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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Not all cancer cells are created equal. By disturbing the balance of cells within a cancerous tumor, researchers believe they may have discovered a new weapon in the fight against cancer.
Researchers at Universit Catholique de Louvain in Belgium have identified a key difference in types of tumor cells that could lead to a possible new anticancer therapy. They found tumor cells located in regions rich in oxygen differ from tumor cells in areas deprived of oxygen (hypoxic regions).
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They main difference is in the way each type of cell fuels itself. It had been thought that all types of tumor cells used glucose to generate energy. However, data collected from mice shows well-oxygenated tumor cells use a different fuel, lactate. The lactate used by the well-oxygenated cells as fuel is released as a waste product from the hypoxic cells, which burn glucose for energy. Study authors suggest this process shows that a tumor cells survives because of the symbiotic relationship between the two different types of cells.
A detailed analysis showed that by blocking the protein that allows well-oxygenated cells to take up lactate, the cells adapted to use glucose for energy, which in turn deprived the hypoxic cells of their energy. By disrupting this relationship, researchers were able to show a decrease in tumor growth in two mouse models. Study authors are hopeful MCT1, the protein that allows well-oxygenated cells to take up lactate, could be a potential new target for anticancer therapies.
SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Investigation, published online Nov. 20, 2008
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