BLOCKING CELLS MOVEMENT TO STOP SPREAD OF CANCER

AND GENE DISCOVERED THAT ACTIVATES

STEM CELLS FOR ORGAN REGENERATION IN PLANARIANS

Andrea Múnera López Third Semester of MedicinePONTIFICIAL BOLIVARIAN

UNIVERSITY

When it comes to medical innovation, this days the main interest is focus on molecular bases…

…Reasearches recognize that studying how to improve a gene, code the posibility of finding better treatments or a cure for diseases are bigger and better.

BLOCKING CELL MOVEMENT TO STOP SPREAD CANCER

Cancer, according to The National Institute of Cancer of USA, is the term used for abnormal cells that divides without control and can spread to different tissues.

Now-a-days, there are known more than a hundred types of cancer.

A secondary cancer

(Metastasis) is the one that spreads trough the body, following either linfatic or blood via.

This type of cancer can be lodge in vital organs, as lungs or the brain, and thats why it is so dangerous.

Scientist found that changing the cell structure from a liquid (And fast) state to a solid (and

slow) state the posibility of metastasis decrease.

Using embryonic cells and studying its developing process, the LPA (Lysophosphatidic acid) was the molecule researches found that was in charge of changing the cell structure.

The cells will continue to travel in our body but with this change it would not be as easier as before to pass from a tissue to another. Plus, for scientist is less complex to stop a mase than a fluid.

This discover is really important to finding new treatments for cancer, treatments that cause less pain and that could be more effective.

Scientist have to keep working on this

research and develop what they found in another cells.

GENE DISCOVERED THAT ACTIVATES STEM CELLS FOR ORGAN REGENERATION IN

PLANARIANS

In nature, there are some species that have some genes specialized in organ regeneration. In our body we have the example of the liver cells that have this regenaration capacity.

In this case, researches used a flat worm called Planarian because when they cut off the Planarians head, the head with eventually grow again.

Now-a-days scientist use lot of species for proving different test or drugs before making this trials in humans.

Previous studies have found that organ regeneration is drived by a protein called Notum but they didnt knew which was the gene that activates this process.

The planarian have stem cells clasified as pluripotent cells, that have the capacity of regrow any tissue that is missing.

They found that it was a gene called Zic 1 the one that was in charge of this head regeneration.

This is the first step to start a whole process to find this gene in humans and develop new treatments for repair injuries.

GENE ZIC 1

I think that the scientist have to prove this achievement finding the gene that codified the protein that could help the human tissues to repair after they have been injured, but this is a good start to the researches that have to be improved.

WHO statistics throw that every year we have 11 millions new cases of cancer, making this disease a really big problem for society and the actual treatments are painful and not a hundred percent effective.

MEDICAL UTILITY

This finding have a massive medical utility, because the probability of stopping cancer cells of doing metastasis will be increased and this means that the cancer will be localizated and managed easily. Plus, this research is already proved it a type of human cells, scientist just need to work with different cells to keep improving the discover.

According to the Landmine Monitor, in 2012 there were 3.628 victims of landmines. From January to July of 2014, in Colombia, 149 persons became victims of the same problem. Medicine, now-a-days does not have a way to help all this people to repair this injuries.

Finding a gene that codifies organ regeneration, would let medicine to reppair any injurie, from the little ones till the ones caused by landmines. We could regrow any damaged tissue and humans health would not be a target of violence anymore.

WEBGRAPHY

• -SCIENCE DAILY, Gene discovered that activates stem cells for organ regeneration in Planarians

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140703142348.htm [Consult: July 9, 2014]

• SCIENCE DAILY, Blocking cells' movement to stop spread of cancer http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140707092655.htm [Consult: July 9, 2014]

• Acción contra minas, Víctimas minas antipersonal en el mundo http://www.accioncontraminas.gov.co/Paginas/victimas.aspx [Consult: July 19, 2014]

• World health organization, Cancer Statistics http://www.who.int/en/ [Consult: July 19, 2014]

…Thank you.