Discovering a Solution to Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer
Scientists have just found a new way to potentially treat an bad type of prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among American men, and it’s also the second deadliest. Scientists just discovered some thing that make this type of cancer even more serious – they call it neuroendocrine prostate cancer which can be hard to treat. The discovery might help doctors find ways to stop neuroendocrine prostate cancer before it gets too bad.
Lucia R. Languino, a professor at Thomas Jefferson University, and her team have recently made an exciting discovery! They have found special pathways that could help stop neuroendocrine prostate cancer from growing. The team wrote about the new research in a journal called Scientific Reports.
Most prostate cancers are a serious condition called adenocarcinoma. But there are some other, very rare sorts of prostate cancer that are much harsher and can spread around the body quickly. Treatments that usually work on adenocarcinoma won’t be effective with these types of cancers.
It has been a mystery how prostate cancer turns into neuroendocrine prostate cancer. To figure out how this happens, Dr. Languino and colleagues looked for signs of the disease called “biomarkers”. In their previous study, they discovered that a molecule named aVb3 integrin is typically found in people with neuroendocrine prostate cancer but not with adenocarcinoma prostate cancer.
The researchers were looking for molecules that are only found in neuroendocrine prostate cancer. They found out that when they increased the expression of aVb3 integrin in the prostate cancer cells, it also caused an increase in the expression of a molecule called Nogo receptor 2 (NgR2) and a known marker of neuroendocrine prostate cancer.
Dr. Languino, who works at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center – Jefferson Health, was very excited by her team’s recent discovery. That’s because they found something really special – a protein called NgR2 in nerve cells that helps with certain functions. What was most interesting is that they had never seen this molecule in cancer cells before!
So what Dr. Languino and her colleagues wanted to know was why this protein is showing up in cancer cells now.
A study revealed that a certain protein called “NgR2” works together with another protein called “aVb3 integrin”. Scientists then observed that both NgR2 and aVb3 integrin were present at the same time in mice which had neuroendocrine prostate tumors. An additional experiment concluded that both NgR2 and aVb3 integrin are essential for the development of these kinds of tumors.
Dr. Languino and her team discovered that when they decreased the amount of NgR2 in neuroendocrine prostate cancer cells, the levels of these kind of cancer markers also lowered. This means that NgR2 plays a role in this form of cancer. Additionally, it seems like decreasing NgR2 expressed in these cells can limit their ability to grow or move around – which could prevent them from spreading and becoming fatal.
According to Dr. Languino, two molecules called aVb3 integrin and NgR2 have the potential to be deadly when combined together. To stop prostate cancer from growing and spreading, she and her team are searching for substances that would prevent the molecules from working.
Scientists recently studied a receptor called NgR2 that is found in prostate cancer. They discovered that this receptor triggers a process of change in tumor cells which causes them to become nerve and hormone cells. Their results were published on 7 November 2022 in an article called “The NOGO receptor NgR2, a novel αVβ3 integrin effector, induces neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer.”
