A new scientific discovery made by a team of researchers in Spain may pave the way for developing new therapeutic strategies to eliminate cancer.
Scientists at the Genome Regulatory Center in Barcelona found that cancer cells release bursts of energy when they are exposed to pressures inside the body. Mitochondria, the energy-producing unit in living cells, move toward the nucleus of the cancer cell and emit an additional amount of energy that helps treat the damage that has occurred in the cell’s DNA and save it from excessive external pressures.
The study, which was published by the scientific journal (Nature Communication), which specializes in scientific research, confirmed that laboratory tests on samples of tumors removed from patients showed that the cancer cell doubles its energy production if it is exposed to stress, which can explain the mechanisms that malignant cells follow to survive inside the body, such as crawling inside the tumor, infiltrating through the pores of the arteries, or withstanding forces. Pressure within the bloodstream.
In the framework of this study, the Spanish researchers used a specialized microscope that can compress a living cell so that its width does not exceed 3 microns, which is equivalent to one thirteenth of the diameter of a human hair. They noticed that within seconds of the compression process occurring, the mitochondria move towards the surface of the cell nucleus and release batches of “adenosine triphosphate” (ATP) molecules, which is known as the energy currency at the molecular level. inside a living cell.
Movement of mitochondrial units
In statements to the website “Citech Daily”, which specializes in scientific research, researcher Sarah Sadelchi from the Center for Genome Regulation and one of…
Participants in preparing the study said that the way mitochondrial units move towards the surface of the nucleus inside the “trapped” cancer cell makes us rethink the role of these units inside the living human cell. They are not just fixed batteries to feed the cell with energy, but rather they respond when they are called upon to face emergency situations such as the cell being exposed to external pressures that exceed its ability to withstand.
The researchers found that mitochondrial units are tightly packed on the surface of the cell nucleus to the point that the nucleus is compressed inward. They observed this phenomenon occurring in 84% of cases of cancer cells being exposed to pressure, compared to cases of cancer cells that move normally without being exposed to pressure. The researchers called these structures “Nucleus Associated Mitochondria.”
In order to confirm the validity of this scientific hypothesis, the researchers used luminous sensors made of fluorescent material, which emit light flashes when the adenosine triphosphate molecules referred to above fuse with the cell nucleus. They actually observed an increase in the flashes by approximately 60% within only 3 seconds of the cancer cell beginning to be exposed to pressure.
Dr. Fabio Pisano, co-author of the study, says that these flashes are “a clear indication that the cells are adapting to the pressures and reformulating their metabolism as a result.” Later experiments showed the importance of rapid energy bursts for the survival and continuity of cancer cells, as mechanical compression of the cell leads to the breaking of DNA chains under external pressures and the entanglement of the genome inside the nucleus.
Repair teams
Cells rely on “repair teams” within the cell to reach the damaged parts of the DNA chain to treat them, but these teams are hungry for energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, and therefore if stressed cancer cells receive the necessary energy surges, they repair the damage they have been exposed to within hours. Without these surges, they stop dividing and growing normally.
The researchers were also able to identify the cellular engineering mechanism that allows the fusion of mitochondria in the cell nucleus in the event of pressure. They noticed that a network of actin filaments, the same type of protein filaments that allow muscle contraction inside the body, is formed around the nucleus, and that this network is what holds the mitochondria in their correct place around the nucleus.
When the researchers injected these cells with latrunsulin, which dissolves actin, the mitochondrial formations around the perimeter of the nucleus collapsed and the energy flows that fuel the cancer cell diminished.
Based on this experiment, the researchers believe that if cancer metastases depend on energy flows from mitochondrial clusters around the nucleus to invade the body, then using drugs to dissolve actin networks without poisoning the mitochondria themselves could prevent the spread of cancer into healthy tissues of the body. Dr. Verena Ruprecht, a member of the study team, says that the study of “the mechanical response to pressures within cancer cells is considered one of the weak points of cancer that science has not addressed extensively, and it may open the door wide to new therapeutic paths.”
The study team confirms that although this research focuses on the effect of pressure on cancer cells, the response of living cells in general under pressure is considered a general phenomenon in biology, as science has been able to monitor the compression of immune cells within lymph nodes and the compression of fetal cells during the process of embryo formation inside the womb.
Dr. Sedelci says, “Whenever a living cell is exposed to pressure due to external influences, it emits bursts of energy to maintain the integrity of the genome inside it. Studying this phenomenon may contribute to a radical change in the way we understand how living cells generally survive when exposed to mechanical stress.”