Scientists Discover How Cancers Generate Muscle-Like Contractions to Spread Around the Body
15 August 2011 - Scientists have discovered that a protein called JAK triggers contractions in tumours that allow cancer cells to squeeze though tiny spaces and spread. The collaboration between the ICR in London and INSERM and the University of Nice in France showed that when JAK becomes ‘switched on’ it leads to muscle-like contractions in cells to generate the force that cancer cells require to move.
Cancer cells spread by moving from the tumour, through the cell matrix, to new locations. In some cancer types the cancer cells use force to ‘elbow’ their way through the matrix. The force is produced by a process similar to muscle contraction. In other types of tumours the tumour-associated healthy cells use force to create tunnels down which the tumour cells move.
Importantly, the team found that JAK triggers tumour spread via both routes. The finding raises the possibility that drugs targeting JAK – which are already in development to stop tumour growth - could also potentially stop the tumour spread.
