Immune defenses block cancer growth

The body's immune system blocks cancerous tumor growth

Researchers at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig have found out in animal experiments with mice that the body's own immune system actively prevents the spread of tumors by cutting off a connection to the blood vessels.

The human body has developed a variety of mechanisms that can protect against newly formed cancer cells. For example, the body's own killer cells recognize and destroy altered cells in our organs every day. Once tumors have arisen, messenger substances of the immune system disturb them as they grow. The immune system is constantly on the move in the human body to fight bacteria or fours. According to the latest findings, the immune system also fights degenerate endogenous cells that can develop into cancer. The nutrient supply via the blood is cut off by the immune system. In addition, this prevents the cancer cells from spreading through the bloodstream. If a tumor could nevertheless develop, a messenger substance called beta-interferon is released. The molecule beta-interferon prevents the tumor from attaching itself to the blood system.

"Beta-interferon blocks the tumor from attaching to the blood vessel system by preventing immune cells from forming growth factors and we did not expect this effect on tumors," said researcher Jadwiga Jablonska of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI)..

So far, it was known that the messenger beta-interferon is released in viral diseases and inflammation. However, artificially produced beta-interferon has been used for some time in conventional cancer therapy. However, the exact modes of action were unknown. The research should now be driven forward. "We now want to understand how the network of tumor, immune cells and messenger substances works to discover new target structures for the treatment of cancer," says Siegfried Weiß, head of the working group "Molecular Immunology" at the HZI. (sb, 06.04.2010)

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