Taiwanese researchers have become the first in the world to pin down a gene key to triggering metastasis of cancer cells, scientists at Academia Sinica announced yesterday.
The gene, known as paraspeckle component 1 — or PSPC1 — causes the metastasis of cancer in 60 percent to 70 percent of human patients, Jou Yuh-shan (周玉山), a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, told a news conference in Taipei.
In early-stage cancer, the condition affects only a localized part of the body, but when cancer spreads, the diagnosis changes to stage three or stage four, signifying that cancer cells are growing and spreading through blood vessels, he said.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
Stage three and stage four cancer is marked by the progression of cancer into other parts of the body, resulting in a deterioration of health and eventual death, he said.
After a decade of research, his team has identified PSPC1 as the gene that plays a crucial role in metastasis and controls the functions of other genes in cancer cells, such as inhibiting apoptosis, or natural cell death, he said.
Large-scale expression of PSPC1 is present in 60 percent to 70 percent of late-stage cancers, including breast, liver, lung and prostate cancers, he said.
PSPC1 not only augments the generation of cancer cells, but it also enables metastasis by imparting mobility and stem-cell like characteristics to normal cells, resulting in a superior growth rate and the drug resistance of cancer cells, he said.
Furthermore, the gene alters the cell’s cytokines to produce growth factor beta 1, also known as TGF-beta 1, which regulates apoptosis, he said.
In its altered state, the factor instead prolongs the lifespan and reproduction of cancer cells, he said.
The rate of PSPC1 expression is exceedingly low in healthy human beings, while high rates of its expression correspond with cancer that is reproducing and metastasizing, he said.
“In elucidating PSCS1 functionality and TGF-beta 1 behavior in metastasizing cancer, this research represents a major breakthrough,” Jou said.
The team’s study was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology on March 28.
The research team has identified an inhibitor of PSPC1 that has potential medical value, but its development for actual application in cancer treatment could take between 10 and 20 years, he said.
NO CONNECTION: Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said the CECC has linked no deaths so far to the AstraZeneca vaccine Eleven people in the nation have died after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, but the deaths should not deter older people with chronic health conditions from getting vaccinated. Nine of the deaths — people aged 65 to 97 — took place three hours to one day after the AstraZeneca vaccine was given, the center said, while eight of the 11 deaths were people aged 75 or older, most of whom had chronic health conditions. On Wednesday, the center said that 12 more people — seven women and five men aged 42 to 97 at
HELPING HAND: Vaccine eligibility can likely be widened to cover pregnant women now that the nation has more vaccine doses than it planned for, Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan yesterday received a shipment of 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the US, obtaining its largest single batch of vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic began early last year. A cargo plane of Taiwanese national carrier China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) carrying the Moderna Inc vaccines landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 4:30pm, after leaving Memphis, Tennessee, early on Saturday, US time. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) and American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen were at the airport to welcome the plane. The vaccines were transported to a cold chain logistics center, where they would be inspected
‘NO STRINGS ATTACHED’: The US is donating the shots without any political or economic conditions, and with the singular aim of saving lives, a senior US official said The US was yesterday to ship 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Taiwan, a senior US administration official told Reuters, more than tripling Washington’s previous allocation of shots for the nation. Washington, competing with Beijing to deepen geopolitical clout through so-called “vaccine diplomacy,” had initially promised to donate 750,000 doses to Taiwan, but is increasing that number as US President Joe Biden’s administration advances its pledge to send 80 million US-made shots around the world. The 2.5 million donated doses of the Moderna Inc vaccine would leave Memphis, Tennessee, on a flight belonging to Taiwan’s national carrier, China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), early
VULNERABLE: The CECC has been moving older infected people or those with underlying health conditions, who were in isolation, to hospitals for better health monitoring The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 75 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, the lowest daily count since the nationwide level 3 alert was issued last month. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the 75 local infections are 35 males and 40 females, aged from under five to over 80, and they began experiencing symptoms between June 8 and Sunday. New Taipei City reported 38 cases, followed by Taipei with 22, Taoyuan with five, Miaoli County with three, Keelung and Taichung with two each, and Kaohsiung, Yunlin County and Changhua County with one each, CECC
RSS