An article reported recently in Cancer Cell reveals a strategy that bladder cancer uses to proliferate. The study, conducted by the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Yale researchers, shows that targeting a mechanism by which bladder cancer spread can be treatment option. Bladder cancer is a malignant tumour that origins from the epithelial lining of the urinary bladder. It is often found early because it leads to bleeding in the urine, pain during urination without evidence of urinary tract infection or other urinary symptoms. Cigarette smoking greatly increases bladder cancer risk. Cancer cells that circulate in the body can use components of the immune system to create favorable environment for the formation of new tumors. This new research reveals a way to prevent cancer cells from taking advantage of the immune system and therefore block the ability of circulating cancer cells to find novel metastasis sites. Using bladder cancer cells, co-lead researcher Dr Dan Theodorescu and other investigators found how macrophages, a type of immune cells, recognize and help circulating cancer cells, suggesting potential way to treat bladder cancer. A tumor-suppressor gene termed RhoDGI2 inhibits tumor growth at metastatic sites. Previously, the research team found RhoGDI2 loss enable cancer cells to express more Endothelin and Versican proteins to recruit macrophages, which can generate cancer growth-promoting molecules, to the site of the cancer cells. Now, the new research reveals osteopontin is one of the molecules produced by macrophages. Specifically, the protein osteopontin attaches to CD44 receptors on bladder cancer cells, allowing the cancer cells to become a novel tumor site. Tumors originating from epithelial cells often express high levels of CD44 on cancer cell surface, and this protein is strongly involved in tumor initiation and spread. In the study, Dr Theodorescu inhibited the osteopontin signaling pathway in experimental animals and observed that bladder cancer cells did not spread to the lungs and lymph nodes, suggesting preventing osteopontin binding to CD44 as a promising way of targeting metastasis of bladder cancer. In addition, osteopontin production predicted poor prognosis of people with bladder cancer. Dr Theodorescu said targeting macrophages and/or CD44 represents a treatment strategy. Further, CusAb produces Recombinant fam171a2, RhoDGI2, CD44, Endothelin, Versican, osteopontin for research.
