Geneticists at the University of Cambridge have developed a method for identifying different types of cells in a tumor. IN
Researchers have developed a system of geneticbarcoding WILD-seq. They used viruses to label different types of breast cancer cells with a unique code. After that, using the technology of RNA sequencing of individual cells, it is possible to determine which of them survived after treatment.
The scientists tested their system on mice.They labeled all mammary tumor cells in these animals using WILD-seq. The mice were then treated with chemotherapy. The study showed that cells that survive after treatment are more dependent on asparagine. It is an amino acid that cells use to protect themselves from damage.
The researchers injected L-asparaginase, a drugcleaving asparagine, which is used to treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This approach allowed them to target the right cells and completely destroy the tumor.
Proposing some kind of "combination therapy"which adds asparaginase to standard treatment could be a way to further shrink tumors in breast cancer patients and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Ian Cannell, co-author of the study from the Cambridge Institute for Cancer Research UK
Tumors contain both normal cells andmany types of cancer cells. The diversity of cancer cells in a single tumor is one of the main reasons why standard therapy is ineffective in some cases, the researchers explain. Although most of the tumor is killed during therapy, a small number of cancer cells may survive and grow again, leading to recurrence.
Until now, researchers have not been able to understandwhich cells survive and what causes resistance to therapy. The new approach, if proven effective in humans, could help overcome this limitation and develop a targeted drug.
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