Molecules to treat skin cancer found?

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Madonna performs at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam during her MDNA world tour on Saturday. — AFP

Scientists have identified a molecule in immune cells that inhibits melanoma growth in mice, a landmark finding which they say could shape the future treatment of the dangerous skin cancer.
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the US, found that high expression of a cell-signalling molecule, known as interleukin-9, in immune cells inhibits melanoma growth.
After observing mice without the genes, responsible for development of an immune cell called T helper cell 17 (TH17), the researchers found that the mice had significant resistance to melanoma tumour growth, suggesting that blockade of the TH17 cell pathway favoured tumour inhibition.
The scientists, who detailed their finding in the journal Nature Medicine, also noticed that the mice expressed high amounts of interleukin-9.
“These were unexpected results, which led us to examine a possible contribution of interleukin-9 to cancer growth suppression.” said study co-author Rahel Purwar, a PhD scholar at BWH’s department of dermatology. The team next treated melanoma-bearing mice with T helper cell 9 (TH9), an immune cell that produces interleukin-9. They saw that these mice also had a profound resistance to melanoma growth. This is the first reported finding showing an anti-tumour effect of TH9 cells, the researchers said. Moreover, they were able to detect TH9 cells in both normal human blood and skin, specifically in skin-resident memory T cells and memory T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

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Gene find raises hope for liver cancer therapy
Washington: For the first time, a team led by an Indian-origin scientist has identified the role of a gene that triggers liver cancer, a finding they say could lead to novel therapies for the disease in humans.
In experiments on mice, the team led by Devanand Sarkar at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, the US, demonstrated the role of astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1), in hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer.
The mouse model, published in the journal Hepatology, represents a critical step in understanding the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer progression and could lead to novel therapies for the disease, the researchers said.
AEG-1 was cloned in the lab of study co-author Paul Fisher of the department of human and molecular genetics. — PTI