Inhibition of Lymph Hormone May Prevent Cancer from Spreading

Researchers have identified the hormone adrenomedullin as a potential drug target, after finding that it played an important role in both the development of lymphedema and the spread of cancer cells through the lymph system.

In addition to being a powerful vascular dilator and growth promoter, the peptide hormone adrenomedullin influences heart rate, thirst, and appetite, stress response, antibacterial activity, and nerve signal transmission.

To study the lymphatic role of adrenomedullin, investigators from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (Chapel Hill, USA) genetically engineered a line of mice to lack the hormone and its related receptors. Results published in the December 20, 2007, issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation revealed that these mice displayed the same characteristics as mice suffering from impaired lymphatic function. Lymph sacs that would normally absorb tissue fluids were reduced in size, and the sacs from the mutant mice were composed of fewer cells than normal. In this state the lymph system would be resistant to the spread of invasive cancers.

"In cancer treatments of the future, patients suffering from these aggressive cancers could be identified early and could be treated with a drug to inhibit the growth of the lymph vessels that transport the cancerous cells, thus keeping the cancer in check,” said senior author Dr. Kathleen M. Caron, assistant professor of cell and molecular physiology and genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.”


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