What's curious is that viral oncology vectors can destroy cancer cells so aggressively that it's performed in a hospital because it's potentially lethal.
>One hurdle that will need to be overcome is that NF-Y also regulates important processes in healthy cells, such as metabolism and the cell cycle, the series of steps that cells go through as they grow and divide. However, Vakoc and team hypothesize that because RMS cells are "highly sensitive" to changes in PAX3-FOXO1 expression, there could be a "window of opportunity" in which a drug inhibits NF-Y long enough for RMS cells to differentiate but not so long that healthy tissues get damaged.
Author buried the most important "but.." in the last paragraph. Lets keep "sciencing", but this is just a catchy headline.
I'd be curious if one could use CRISPR to reprogram cancer cells to the point that the immune system starts killing them again. Or did this work not have any targeting?
Immunotherapy drugs I think work by interfering with cancer cells ability to suppress or evade the immune system. So possible.
I think basically all pathogens and many cancers have to have some way to delay, suppress or evade immunity or they get quickly dealt with. Seems to have become a very active area of research in the last 20 years.
Probably of interest to readers, a 2011 talk from Danny Hillis that this article reminded me of.
“Danny Hillis makes a case for the next frontier of cancer research: proteomics, the study of proteins in the body. As Hillis explains it, genomics shows us a list of the ingredients of the body -- while proteomics shows us what those ingredients produce. Understanding what's going on in your body at the protein level may lead to a new understanding of how cancer happens.”
MSTN codes for myostatin, a myokine that is produced and released by myocytes and acts on muscle cells to inhibit muscle growth, myostatin gene defects (missing genes/myostatin knockout) are seen in whippets and Belgium blue cattle.
PAX3–FOXO1 drives miR-486-5p which induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy in myostatin knockout mice and represses miR-221 which contributes to rhabdomyosarcoma (soft tissue cancer), a type of rhabdomyolysis (muscle loss).
Personally I prefer the effect of high doses of manganese (chloride) on insulin and the stimulating effect insulin has on the immune system.
No I'm saying manganese helps regulates insulin which in turn helps modulate parts of the immune system. [1] It helps to smooth the blood sugar spike.
Chromium reduces insulin sensitivity which is helpful for cells especially muscle which in turn increases stamina. There are plenty of studies which call into question the RDA's for supplements and there are misleading studies like [3].
For example, [2] (Zinc) deficiency during pregnancy causes irreversible effects on the newborn such as growth impairment, spontaneous abortion, congenital malformations and poor birth outcomes.
The same probably exists for other supplements and likewise over exposure will also introduce problems like nickel over exposure can cause fibrotic lung in animal experiments which could explain why some people are born with cystic fibrosis.
In this example [3], the subjects are only consuming 200micrograms of chromium.
I'm not surprised they didnt see any effect, the RDA is 400ug, but some body builders have been known to take upto 2.4g aka 2,400mg aka 2,400,000ug and have seen effects (cant find the study now), but the weight training muddies the water so to speak. And the chromium intake assumes there is enough manganese in the diet to help produce enough insulin and thus smooth the blood sugar levels in the first place.
Zinc plays a role at stabilising cell membranes, it can help reduce the need for a vit E intake which also helps protect cell membranes and is also heavily concentrated in organs like the pancreas.
And whilst non digestive exposure to metals like zinc and manganese can cause problems, the digestive system is very capable at removing excess intakes via the bile acids, helping to reduce any risks.
Zinc, manganese and chromium will all have an effect on the immune system, but as manganese is most commonly associated with insulin production, I only mentioned the manganese.
This study [4] shows that chromium alters the immune response by immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive processes, by altering the insulin resistance of cells.
We are very complex chemical reactions, so trying to get the right intake seems to be a logical first step and with todays technology, and the complete absence of medical experts asking about diet in the first place, how can they even do their job properly for long term illnesses?
So in this reprogramming of cancer cells, yes its a another scientific achievement but is this another achievement once the horse has bolted and should we actually be looking more at the quality and nutrition of our food and environment in order to avoid reactionary medicine?
