Researchers at Columbia University in New York have discovered a molecule called Malat1 that is responsible for waking up dormant breast cancer cells and pushing them to form metastases. results published In Nature Cancer.
A few years ago, scientists understood that in the early stages of tumor development, some cancer cells leave the primary tumor, move to distant parts of the body and “go dormant.” They may wake up years later and cause the cancer to recur or metastasize.
During experiments on laboratory mice, American researchers were able to understand that a special molecule called Malat1 has the ability to activate cancer cells and “push” them to form metastases. It is a large non-coding RNA that is not “translated” into proteins.
To confirm Malat1’s ability to drive cancer progression, scientists deleted the Malat1 gene from breast cancer cells in mice. As a result, the cells’ ability to metastasize and spread was almost completely suppressed. Simultaneously increasing Malat1 activity had the opposite effect.
It turns out that Malat1 has a dual effect on dormant cancer cells. The molecule has the capacity to activate specific gene expression pathways that awaken cancer cells and make them more likely to proliferate (divide) and form new tumors. Malat1 also stimulates the production of molecules that prevent the immune system from recognizing and killing newly activated cancer cells.
It is noted that the initial factor that leads to increased expression of Malat1 in the body has not yet been investigated. Additional research is needed for this.
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