Discovery stem cell associated with prostate cancer
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Tumor is the 2nd most common among men, after lung cancer.
The disease kills 254 thousand people per year worldwide.
Researchers have discovered a stem cell that can cause at least some types of cancer. Stem cells are cells that act as a kind of "instruction manual" for the body. The discovery is still only experimental - cells were found in mice - but may explain at least some types of prostate tumors, and in the future offer new ways to treat them, according to an article published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The discovery also points to a possible new source of prostate tumors - the so-called luminal cells, which secrete various compounds used by the prostate. "The role of stem cells in the development of prostate cancer has been a focus of speculation for many years," he said in a statement Helen Rippon, of the British Prostate Cancer Charity.
The important thing is that this new stem cell does not depend on androgens - male sex hormones that control the growth of the prostate - to survive and grow. This may give a clue as to why prostate cancer often becomes resistant to treatments designed to regulate these androgens in advanced stages of disease, "said Helen, who was not involved in the research." This enhanced knowledge will also be a step forward to learn how to help prevent the disease occurs in men. "
Michael Shen, Medical Center of Columbia University and his colleagues dubbed the new stem cells as Carns, which stands on the "expression of Nkx3.1 cells resistant to castration.
They normally regenerate the tissue that lines the inside of the gland, responsible for production of semen. But the cells can also form tumors if certain genes to prevent the uncontrolled growth are "off".
Shen said the researchers believed that the tumors resulted from a different layer of cells in the prostate, the so-called basal cells.
"Previous research indicated that prostate cancer arises from stem cells, basal and during the formation of these cancer cells become luminal cells," Shen said in a statement. "Instead, the Carns may represent a source for luminal prostate cancer."
Prostate cancer is the second most common among men around the world, after lung cancer. The disease kills 254 thousand people per year worldwide.
Source: Reuters
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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