How the immune system responds to tissue damage can aid cancer spread


Date:
February 24, 2022
Source:
The Francis Crick Institute
Summary:
Researchers have uncovered how a process involved in the
regeneration of tissue damaged by radiation can aid the spread
of cancer.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute have uncovered how a process involved in the regeneration of tissue damaged by radiation can aid the
spread of cancer.


==========================================================================
The spread of cancer around the body is a complex process and
understanding more about how it happens is vital to the development of
new treatments.

In their study, published in Nature Cancer today (Thursday), the
scientists investigated the relationship between healthy tissue repair
and cancer growth.

They exposed healthy mouse lungs, a site where it is common for many
cancers to spread, to a high dose of radiation in order to damage the
tissue. They then tested the potential of breast cancer cells to grow
in the damaged area in comparison to the uninjured lungs. More cancer
cells spread to the lungs and began forming secondary tumours in mice
that had been injured by radiation compared to the mice who had not.

Further experiments revealed that this is due to the signalling of
neutrophils, a type of immune cell, which help repair tissue damage. When
the researchers blocked signalling from the neutrophils in the injured
lungs, secondary tumours were greatly reduced.

Emma Nolan, first author and postdoc in the Tumour-Host Interaction
Laboratory at the Crick, says: "This is a situation where tissue damage
sets the stage for the spread of cancer and, in trying to repair the
damaged tissue, the immune system inadvertently aids the cancer. This
role of neutrophils in supporting cancer spread is something which
needs further research and could potentially help to identify new ways
to treat the disease." Ilaria Malanchi, author and group leader of the Tumour-Host Interaction Laboratory at the Crick, says: "The relationship between cancer cells, the immune system and the organ where cancer takes
hold is highly complex. And it's by untangling aspects of this web that
we can better understand why cancer is able to spread, what predisposes
organ to the arrival of cancer cells and ultimately how we can try to
stop this." It is important to note that the radiation that was given to
the mice in this study was a higher dose than is used for radiotherapy treatment in hospital and targeted a significantly larger proportion of
the tissue. Thanks to advancing technology, the exposure to radiation
is now restricted to cancerous tissue and indeed radiotherapy represents
a powerful weapon to control cancer disease.

Ilaria adds: "Unrevealing the new responses of neutrophils
to radiation we described here, could further enhance
the efficacy of this highly-regarded treatment for cancer." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by The_Francis_Crick_Institute. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Nolan, E. et al. Radiation exposure elicits a neutrophil-driven
response
in healthy lung tissue that enhances metastatic colonization. Nature
Cancer, 2022 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-022-00336-7 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220224112640.htm

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