A Close Look into EphB4, A Protein that Protects Tumor Cells
According to a study by scientists for the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, a protein that allows breast cancer cells to evade the body’s natural immune responses could be a target of future cancer therapies.
The study is the first to identify how a protein called EphB4 sitting on the cell surface functions. The researchers found out that EphB4 serves as a sentry, guarding the tumor cells from any defenses the body deploys to attack them.
“The important aspect of this study is that ・if we turn the protein [EphB4] off, the tumor cells die, which means that its function helps the cancer cells survive,” says Parkash S. Gill, MD, a professor of medicine in the Keck School and the study’s senior author.
“There are means in the body to kill tumor cells,” Gill says. “[If] you block those then you give the cells the opportunity to survive and grow.” Not only did EphB4 block those defenses, but it helped the cancer cells flourish by issuing a call for more blood vessels ・the biological equivalent of food for the tumor.
Therefore, the goal of a future anti-cancer therapy is blocking EphB4, to knock out one of the tumor cell’s guardians. Like Herceptin (one of the first biological treatments for breast cancer), which targets the her2 protein found on the surface of the tumor cells. This study appears in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Pathology.
Source: EurekAlert
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