_____

From: MM-research@yahoogroups.com [mailto:MM-research@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Richard Wilson
Sent: 02 November 2006 02:09
To: mm-research@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MM-research] STRESS HORMONES MAY PLAY NEW ROLE IN SPEEDING UP
CANCER GROWTH








STRESS HORMONES MAY PLAY NEW ROLE IN SPEEDING UP CANCER GROWTH

http://researchnews <http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/epinorepi.htm>
.osu.edu/archive/epinorepi.htm



This release embargoed until November 1, 2006 to coincide with publication
in the journal Cancer Research.]


STRESS HORMONES MAY PLAY NEW ROLE IN SPEEDING UP CANCER GROWTH


COLUMBUS , Ohio - New research here suggests that hormones produced during
periods of stress may increase the growth rate of a particularly nasty kind
of cancer.

The study showed that an increase in norepinephrine
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norepinephrine> , a stress hormone, can
stimulate tumor cells to produce two compounds. These compounds can break
down the tissue around the tumor cells and allow the cells to more easily
move into the bloodstream. From there, they can travel to another location
in the body to form additional tumors, a process called metastasis
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastasis> .


<http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/Ronald_Glaser_new.jpg>


Ronald Glaser

The research also suggests the same hormone can also stimulate the tumor
cells to release another compound that can aid in the growth of new blood
vessels that feed cancer cells, hastening the growth and spread of the
disease. The work was reported in the latest issue of the journal Cancer
<http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/> Research.

"This opens up an entirely new way of looking at stress and cancer that's
different from current interpretations," explained Ronald
<http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/research/profiles/Ronald_Glaser/> Glaser, a
professor of molecular <http://medicine.osu.edu/mvimg/> virology,
immunology and medical genetics, and director of the Institute for
<http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/research/centers/ibmr/> Behavioral Medicine
Research at Ohio State University .

Glaser and Eric Yang, a research scientist in the same institute, focused on
the role of these three compounds. Two of them, both matrix
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_metalloproteinase> metalloproteinases
-- MMP-2 and MMP-9 -- play a role in breaking down the scaffolding that
cells attach to in order to maintain their shape. The third compound,
vascular <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vascular_endothelial_growth_factor>
endothelial growth factor (VEGF), is important in the growth of new blood
vessels into tumor cells.

Earlier work by researcher Anil Sood at the University
<http://www.mdanderson.org/> of Texas had shown that the same stress
hormones can stimulate ovarian tumor cells to produce these three compounds.
The key to that discovery was that the two stress hormones - epinephrine
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epinephrine> and norepinephrine - would bind
to places on the surface of ovarian cancer cells, called adrenergic
receptors, and stimulate the release of MMP-2, MMP-9 and VEGF which might
then foster cancer growth.


_____


"This suggests a new approach to possibly fight some cancers - the
prescribing of beta-blocker-type drugs that would block these receptors and
perhaps slow the progression of the disease," Glaser said.

_____


The Ohio State team wanted to see if the same occurred with other cancer
cells.

They turned to cell lines Glaser had developed decades ago to study
nasopharyngeal
<http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/nasopharyngeal/HealthProfe
ssional/page9> carcinoma (NPC), a serious, incurable head and neck cancer
that occurs most frequently among people of Chinese descent.

They treated Glaser's cell line with norepinephrine and, as predicted, the
cells all produced MMP-2, MMP-9 and VEGF. This showed that the receptors for
this hormone were present on cells in Glaser's cell line, but that might
have been just a laboratory aberration in the tissue cultures.

"We needed to see how relevant this finding was to what happened with actual
tumors," he said. Glaser asked colleagues for samples of actual NPC tumors
to look for the presence of similar receptors. They studied tumor samples
which included different types of NPC tumors. All had the sought-after
receptors.

"From this we can say that there is likelihood that all NPC tumors will have
these receptors as well," he said.

"MMP-2 and MMP-9 contribute to the aggressiveness of these tumors," Yang
said. "It isn't clear exactly how they are operating but they may work with
VEGF to facilitate blood vessel growth in new tumors so that they can grow."

The target adrenergic receptors for these hormones are well-known to
clinicians dealing with high-blood-pressure patients. Typically, such
patients are given a class of drugs known as beta-blockers which lead to a
lowering of blood pressure levels.

Glaser and Yang wanted to see how these same drugs affected these tumor
cells. They added propanol, a beta-blocker
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_blocker> , to the tumor cells and then
exposed them to both norepinepherine and epinephrine. With the drug present,
the levels of MMP-2, MMP-9 and VEGF didn't increase.

"This suggests a new approach to possibly fight some cancers - the
prescribing of beta-blocker-type drugs that would block these receptors and
perhaps slow the progression of the disease," Glaser said.

"Using this approach may not cure this cancer but perhaps we could slow down
its growth, making the tumor more sensitive to anti-cancer therapy, and
therefore extending the patient's lifespan and improve their quality of
life."

Working along with Yang and Glaser were Min Chen, Tim Eubank, Clay Marsh,
Scott Jewell, Nicholas Flavahan, Carl Morrison, Peir-En Yeh and Stanley
Lemeshow, all of Ohio State, and Anil Sood and Yang Li, both of the M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.

Support for this research came from the National <http://www.nci.nih.gov/>
Cancer Institute, the National Heart, <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/> Lung and
Blood Institute, the Gilbert and Kathryn Mitchell Endowment and the OSU
Comprehensive Cancer Center <http://www.osuccc.osu.edu/> .

#

Contact: Ronald Glaser, (614) 292-5526; Glaser.1@osu.
<mailto:Glaser.1@...> edu.

Written by Earle Holland, (614) 292-8384; Holland.8@osu.
<mailto:Holland.8@...> edu.











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