Experts identify mechanism leading to spread of bone cancer
The research led by Dr Zhang Changqing from Shanghai 6th People's Hospital found mitochondria in bone cells can inhibit tumor development and explain the mechanisms.
Local medical experts teamed up with colleagues in Zhejiang Province to find a mechanism of cancer cells in bone spreading and detected a new treatment target for cancer's bone metastasis prevention and control.
Bone is the most frequent site of breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer metastasis, and one of the most common sites of metastasis for many solid tumors. Once cancer cells colonize in the bone, it imposes a major clinical challenge for treatment, and causes suffering such as pain and fractures, hence the fatality rates increase significantly.
Bone provides a fertile microenvironment enriched with nutrients, growth factors and hormones, a generous reward for cancer cells. However the relationship between bone cells and bone metastasis was not clear for a long time.
The research led by Dr Zhang Changqing from Shanghai 6th People's Hospital found mitochondria in bone cells can inhibit tumor development and explain the mechanisms.
They found there is a mitochondrial transfer between bone cells and cancer cells and bone cells can control bone metastasis through mitochondrial transfer. They removed two specific proteins Miro1 (mitochondrial Rho 1) and MFN2 (Mitofusion2) in rats in experiments, and the mitochondrial transfer was reduced while bone metastasis accelerated.
They also found that the Miro1/MFN2-related mitochondrial transfer can slow down along with age.
"So the research indicates that new medications targeting Miro1/MFN2 can be useful for bone metastasis prevention and control," Zhang said.
The research was published by leading journal Science Advances.
