探索肿瘤“微环境”的备用治疗的方法

Scientists know that activation of growth factor receptors such as epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) promote tumor progression in many types of cancer.

MD安德森科学家已经表明表皮生长因子受体可以与被称为MIF（巨噬细胞迁移抑制因子）的细胞因子的帮助下被关闭。这是他们认为可能预示看治疗肿瘤的新途径的发现。

Their study results, which focused on brain, breast, and prostate cancer, were published last month inNature Cell Biology上。

Exactly how EGFR activation is regulated in the tumor microenvironment has not been understood, nor do human cells have an external antagonist that regulates EGFR. The tumor microenvironment is the cellular landscape in which a tumor exists, including surrounding blood vessels, immune cells, fibroblasts and other cells and structures. It’s increasingly being recognized as a key factor in disease progression.

MIF似乎是在肿瘤细胞中胞外或外部环境EGFR活化的调节是至关重要的。

“MIF可以从肿瘤和免疫细胞分泌，”说Zhimin Lu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Neuro-Oncology. “Importantly, secreted MIF is modified by an attached sugar group that allows MIF to gain a specific new function compared to its non-modified form.”

Lu’s team discovered that the modified MIF binds to EGFR. This inhibits EGFR by blocking the epidermal growth factor to bind to EGFR in cancer cells.

该小组的研究结果表明潜在的肿瘤扩增的EGFR活化的重要机制。这是通过其拮抗剂，MIF下调介导的，在肿瘤微环境。

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