CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Researchers at UVA School of Medicine may have opened the door to treatment for certain types of cancer.
Contains the main ingredient in the drink that many of us enjoy after a long day at work.
The latest discovery by the School of Medicine focuses on yeast, which is typically used to brew beer. Researchers are using this to better understand similar processes in cancer cells.
“We’re very excited about this research and want to continue making these discoveries. We hope that one day, as we all know, we will be able to understand how cancer cells sleep and wake up. Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Ahmad Jomar said:
Jomar said this latest discovery was three years in the making.
“We are very interested in investigating how ribosomes, the protein synthesis factors in the cell, interact with mitochondria, the power source or battery of the cell,” Jomar said. Ta. “We encountered a situation where when we starved yeast cells, the ribosomes started to attach to the mitochondria.”
When this happens, yeast cells become dormant, similar to cancer cells.
“You can’t starve human cells; they can’t survive and die,” Jomar said. “But in the case of cancer, a small number of cells are able to do that, and they can escape the diagnostic setting by simply going into a dormant state, where the cells don’t divide any further, and then actually move to other parts of the body. It can move to other parts of the body and cause cancer to recur. “
These cells can survive in this state for long periods of time before coming back to life.
This is the heart of Jomaa’s work.
“Understanding how these cells are able to enter and exit this dormant state will inform further treatment of patients, even after they are declared cancer-free. It’s a very important aspect,” said UVA PHD student Maciej Gluc.
Gluck said the new discovery could lead to new ways to prevent it from happening again.
“It would probably be ideal to do that in cancer cells, but it’s very difficult to manipulate those cells in the exact way we want,” Gluck said. “But with yeast, it’s much easier. So these cells could be used, at least for the first part, to develop some new treatments.”
Jomar and his team say they may be able to share more exciting news sometime next year, depending on the results of the next few tests.
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