人们已知肿瘤会触发新血管的生长以促进对其氧气和营养物质的供应。但是,根据一项对小鼠的新的研究,这种所谓的肿瘤血管生成并非肿瘤利用其健康组织“微环境”来加速其生长的唯一方法:研究人员说,当某些类型的神经纤维在前列腺肿瘤附近或肿瘤内生长时,前列腺癌会变得更加致命和富有侵略性。ClaireMagnon及其同事研究了前列腺癌的小鼠模型并发现,在肿瘤中及肿瘤周围的高密度的神经生长可帮助前列腺癌的生长及扩散。研究人员观察到,手术性或化学性破坏前列腺内的交感神经——即那些与“战或逃”有关的神经——可防止肿瘤的早期生长,而用药理学的方法抑制副交感神经——即那些发出“休息与消化”信号的神经——则可抑制肿瘤的播散。研究人员还分析了来自43位前列腺癌患者的肿瘤样本并发现,在肿瘤内及肿瘤周围的高密度的这种神经纤维与不良的临床转归有关。鉴于其发现,Magnon及她的同事提出,抑制这些神经发育的药物作为一种可能的前列腺癌疗法而值得人们研究。一则由JohnIsaacs撰写的《观点栏目》文章更为详细地讨论了这些发现。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
生物谷推荐的英文摘要
Science DOI:10.1126/science.1236361
Autonomic Nerve Development Contributes to Prostate Cancer Progression
C. Magnon; J. Lin; X. Xue; P.S. Frenette at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY; S.J. Hall at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, NY; L. Gerber; S.J.
Nerves are a common feature of the microenvironment, but their role in tumor growth and progression remains unclear. We found that the formation of autonomic nerve fibers in the prostate gland regulates prostate cancer development and dissemination in mouse models. The early phases of tumor development were prevented by chemical or surgical sympathectomy and by genetic deletion of stromal β2- and β3-adrenergic receptors. Tumors were also infiltrated by parasympathetic cholinergic fibers that promoted cancer dissemination. Cholinergic-induced tumor invasion and metastasis were inhibited by pharmacological blockade or genetic disruption of the stromal type 1 muscarinic receptor, leading to improved survival of the mice. A retrospective blinded analysis of prostate adenocarcinoma specimens from 43 patients revealed that the densities of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers in tumor and surrounding normal tissue, respectively, were associated with poor clinical outcomes. These findings may lead to novel therapeutic approaches for prostate cancer.