Blocking a Single Gene Prevents Metastasis of Prostate Cancer in Mouse Model

Blocking of a single gene was found to slow the growth of prostate cancer and abolish the establishment of metastases in a mouse model of a hereditary form of the disease.

The transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse-prostate model is characterized by the spontaneous development of prostate cancer with 100% metastasis. Investigators from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA) worked with this model in their search for a way to slow cancer development that did not rely on vaccination and formation of antibodies.

In a study published in the September 23, 2009, online edition of the journal Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) they reported that targeted mutation of the lymphotoxin alpha (LTA) gene slowed development of primary tumors and almost completely prevented the formation of metastases. LTA mediates a large variety of inflammatory, immunostimulatory, and antiviral responses, and is also involved in the formation of secondary lymphoid organs during development and plays a role in apoptosis. The anticancer effect achieved by blocking LTA formation was apparently due to the rescue of tumor-reactive T cells.

"It appears that the rescued T cells delay tumor formation. It may not be that this approach can prevent cancer altogether, but it can delay the process and slow the aggressive growth and spread of cancer,” explained senior author Dr. Pan Zheng, associate professor of surgery and pathology at the University of Michigan. "There is a certain population with a high likelihood of getting cancer, and we need better strategies to minimize their risk. This approach may be translated into clinical care for those patients.”

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