Jan

CANCER

Tumors use fats to pave the 'roads' for

their metastases

The metabolism of fats enables the formation of new lymphatic vessels that, like roads,
are used by tumors to expand and colonize other organs.

Processed meat, yes, but in moderation.

Today we have very effective treatments for most types of cancer, among others,
chemotherapy or radiotherapy, usually very effective in eliminating a tumor. The
problem is that when the original tumor expands and colonizes other organs - the
process called 'metastasis' - the usefulness of available treatments is very limited. In
fact, metastases account for almost 90% of cancer deaths. Such is the way that the
prevention of these tumor migrations is presented as one of the main challenges of the
current medicine. Hence the importance of a new study conducted by researchers at the
Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium), that show the way in which tumors use the
lymphatic vessels to extend through the body.

As Brian Wong, co-author of the research published in the journal Nature, explains our
study shows that the use of fatty acids by the lymphatic system is programmed in its
development and is necessary both for growth and for its functionality . And besides, we
have demonstrated that enhancing or preventing the use of fat or fat metabolites can
control the growth of lymphatic vessels.

Tumor roads
The authors have already noted in a recently published study that lymphatic vessels
'consume' higher amounts of fatty acids - or, in other words, 'fats' - than blood
vessels. Therefore, it can be assumed that the administration of drugs capable of
preventing the metabolism of fats by the lymphatic system would prevent the formation
of new vessels and, hence, the development of metastases. However, the mechanism by
which lymphatic vessels take advantage of the metabolism of fatty acids is very
complex.

In the new research, the authors analyzed how lymphatic vessels are formed. Initially,
blood vessels are transformed during embryonic development. A 'transformation' that,
among other consequences, causes lymphatic vessels to have a greater 'appetite' for fats
than blood.

Preventing the use of fats or its metabolites make possible to control the growth of
lymphatic vessels, as Brian explains:
The results showed that the transformation of blood vessel nodes requires an increase
in fat metabolism. Specifically, fats are used to generate molecules capable of
promoting epigenetic changes - alterations that, while not altering the DNA sequence,
modify the way in which the genes contained in this DNA are expressed. And these
changes, what are they for? Basically, to alter the production of proteins. And is that
according to the epigenetic pattern, will produce one protein or another. Thus, it
appears that, in this case, the patterns induced by the metabolism of fats give rise to
proteins that promote the formation of new lymphatic vessels.

In short, it seems that tumors need, if not directly, an increase in the metabolism of fatty
acids to be able to have new lymphatic vessels and, thus, colonize other organs.
Therefore, the next step for researchers will be conducting a study to assess whether
the use of drugs that inhibit the metabolism of fats can reduce metastases in various
cancers.

Publicado 2nd January por Jorge Garca

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La bitcora de la salud

Health's logbook

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Mar
20

Oncolytic viruses

Scientists from the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (Idibaps) and the
Biomedical Research Institute (IRB) in Barcelona have succeeded in getting genetically
engineered virus selectively to attack tumor cells without healthy ones being affected.

The work, published by the journal Nature Communications, is the result of the work of
a doctoral thesis of Eneko Villanueva and has been co-led by Cristina Fillat, head of the
gene therapy and cancer group of Idibaps, and Ral Mndez, IRB researcher.

Conventional cancer treatments can cause unwanted side effects due to poor selectivity,
so to avoid them, new treatments are sought to efficiently remove cancer cells and
preserve healthy ones.

Jan
2

CANCER

Tumors use fats to pave the 'roads' for their metastases

The metabolism of fats enables the formation of new lymphatic vessels that, like roads,
are used by tumors to expand and colonize other organs.
Processed meat, yes, but in moderation.

Today we have very effective treatments for most types of cancer, among others,
chemotherapy or radiotherapy, usually very effective in eliminating a tumor.

Dec
31

Stem cells

Developed effective and safer synthetic cardiac stem cells

They have the same efficacy as human cardiac stem cells in promoting repair of heart
lesions without increasing the risk of teratomas.

The use of stem cells is today the most promising alternative in the field of regenerative
medicine.

Dec
29

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES

The US Government Warns about dangers for teens of e-cigarettes

The use of electronic cigarettes among US high school students has grown 900%
between 2011 and 2015

Even today, there are a number of doubts about the efficacy of electronic cigarettes - or
e-cigarettes - to help smokers quit smoking.

Dec
27

IMMUNOLOGY

Spanish scientists design a drug capable of curbing a variety of autoimmune diseases

The compound, an inhibitor of T lymphocyte activation, is the result of the work of 32

Spanish researchers from CSIC, IDIBAPS and CNIC.

Spanish scientists have designed a drug capable of curbing a variety of autoimmune

diseases such as asthma, psoriasis, Crohn's disease or multiple sclerosis but without
blocking the body's natural response against infections caused by pathogens.
Dec
26

ALZHEIMER DISEASE

A new class of drugs are able to slow down the progression of alzheimer in mice

The new 'allosteric ligands' of the M1 muscarinic receptor improve cognitive function
and increase the life expectancy of mice with terminal alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease, that is to say, caused by a progressive

destruction of the brain neurons, that today they already suffer about 30 million people
in the whole planet.

Dec
25

Inhibition of mitochondrial mobility may be the key to preventing

metastasis

The tumor cells position their mitochondria in their membranes to obtain the energy
necessary to leave the primary tumor and colonize other organs

Mitochondria are the organelles responsible for processing nutrients and oxygen to
generate energy for the cells. Mitochondria, that are the energy centers of each and
every healthy cell in the body, do not seem to have enough power to supply the needs of
tumor cells. Or at least, this has been believed in the past.

Dec
24

Uric acid neutralizes free radicals in brain damaged by a stroke

The substance is especially effective in combination with thrombectomy, which consists

of extracting a clot through a catheter At present the only approved therapy to treat
stroke in its acute stage - just after the clot obstructs an artery and left without blood
supply part of the brain - is the removal of the clot. Now, a drug developed at the
Hospital Clnic of Barcelona opens the door to a new way to fight disease by protecting
the brain.

Dec
23
Processed meat also worsens asthma symptoms

Consumption of four or more weekly portions of processed meat may increase the
likelihood of worsening asthma symptoms by up to 76%

Processed meat, that is, all meat that has been subjected to curing, fermentation,
smoking, or other processes to enhance taste and preserve food, is carcinogenic.

Dec
22

Why you should incorporate fermented foods into your diet

Food and health go hand in hand. Nobody denies it. However, as explained by the
authors of the book 'Simbiotic Nutrition', Luis Antonio Lzaro and Ander Urederra,
"people are slave of food drugs". This book proposes a diet based on fermented foods
and directed to the recovery of intestinal microbiota. "Eastern cultures have always
known that the gut is both a source of health and the source of almost all diseases.

"At birth we inherited the microbiome from the mother," the authors write.

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