癌症,原生动物 z-bo 2020-12-21 380

　　Cancer, this name is a collective name for a series of different malignant tissues. The general theory believes that the growth of malignant proliferating tissues originated from a single cell or a few cells is not controlled and eventually forms a tumor. If left untreated, malignant tumors can cause great harm to the human body and eventually lead to death. Although cancer research has been conducted for many years, and some cancers have targeted treatment methods in the early stage, the lack of corresponding model systems and the replication of different cancer origins have led to our lack of understanding of the mechanism of cancer origin. Clear. A joint research team from Sun Yat-sen University in China, the University of Salford in the United Kingdom and the University of California Irvine believes that single-celled parasites (Trypanosoma brucei and Toxoplasma gondii) have certain similarities with cancer cells, and they can be used As a model organism to study the origin of cancer.

　　The origin of cancer is currently generally believed to be due to uncontrollable malignant growth and accumulation of mutations. The latest theory also believes that the selection pressure of the tissue where cancer cells are located also affects the development of cancer. And some cancers seem to be contagious. For example, an endangered species of Tasmanian devil (Tasmanian devil) may bite other individuals, causing "Tasmanian devil facial tumors" to be transmitted from one individual to another. As early as 1996, a female Tasmanian passed this tumor to other individuals, and then the tumor developed into two subtypes, spread throughout the population, and caused the entire population to die. Recent studies have also found that some types of leukemia can be passed from mother to fetus, thus becoming another example of cancer that can be transmitted. These examples of cancer infections are similar to those of parasites.

　　 There are more and more studies on the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei. Studies have found that these single-celled organisms also have information exchange between individual cells. Moreover, the cell division of these organisms is also strictly regulated, and at the same time, many single-celled parasites in the same host maintain a high degree of collaboration. From a human host to an insect host, this process requires perfect cooperation between individuals. Once some problems occur, these parasites are likely to be killed by the host. This kind of collaboration is similar to the information exchange between cancer cells.

　　 If these single-celled parasites are used as model organisms for the study of the origin of cancer cells, there are many advantages. First, these single-celled organisms have similar behaviors such as cell division and differentiation of multicellular organisms. And these parasites have been studied for decades, and a lot of data has been accumulated. At the same time, genetic manipulation of these parasites has been quite mature and common, so it can become a good model for gene mutation research. For those cancers that can be transmitted, single-celled protozoa (Trypanosoma brucei and Toxoplasma gondii) have a certain degree of similarity with their behavior. But there are some difficulties for solid tumors.

　　 Cancer research has never stopped, and we should not be satisfied with current progress, not to mention that we still know very little about cancer. Any attempt to study cancer is worth encouraging, after all, cancer is one of the chief culprits that threaten human health. Using better-operated single-cell organisms as model organisms for cancer origin research can undoubtedly provide a better platform for cancer research and make better use of research resources, so it should be worthy of attention. Cancer research still has a long way to go, and victory can only be achieved by fighting to the end.