Activating this hair loss gene could help in the treatment of cancer
| Aug 1, 2018, 13:04 IST
Scientists are constantly seeking newer ways to cure cancer and this new way will surely surprise you. They have now found that a gene associated with hair loss could actually cure cancer. The findings showed that a gene named IKZF1 recruits T cells in alopecia areata - a condition in which immune cells attack and destroy hair cells - that gets switched off during several types of cancer. Switching off IKZF1 protects the tumour cells from the immune system. However, activating this gene may expose the cancer cells to the immune system and help the immune cells to attack the invading cancer cells.
“We showed that a gene that recruits T cells in alopecia areata is turned off in various types of cancer, protecting them from the immune system. But if we turn that gene back on, we can make those cancers vulnerable to the immune response,” said Angela M. Christiano from Columbia University in New York City, US.
For the study published in the journal, Cell Systems, the researchers used a mouse model. The results of the study showed that the gene helped the immune system infiltrate the tumours causing them to lose at least some ability to escape the immune system. While prostate cancer could also be made more responsive to immunotherapy, colorectal and kidney tumours would not respond to immunotherapy if the IKZF1 expression was increased, since the gene was found to be inactive in these tumours. “We should be able to identify genetic signals that are hyperactive in autoimmune disease, and then harness those signals in tumours that have developed a way to avoid the immune response,” the researchers said.
“We showed that a gene that recruits T cells in alopecia areata is turned off in various types of cancer, protecting them from the immune system. But if we turn that gene back on, we can make those cancers vulnerable to the immune response,” said Angela M. Christiano from Columbia University in New York City, US.
For the study published in the journal, Cell Systems, the researchers used a mouse model. The results of the study showed that the gene helped the immune system infiltrate the tumours causing them to lose at least some ability to escape the immune system. While prostate cancer could also be made more responsive to immunotherapy, colorectal and kidney tumours would not respond to immunotherapy if the IKZF1 expression was increased, since the gene was found to be inactive in these tumours. “We should be able to identify genetic signals that are hyperactive in autoimmune disease, and then harness those signals in tumours that have developed a way to avoid the immune response,” the researchers said.