Aging cells may boost ovarian cancer spread, say scientists (Senolytics may help)

Medical Xpress / Indian Institute of Science / Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences ^ | Jan. 16, 2024 | Pratibha Gopalakrishna / Bharat Vivan Thapa et al

[ConservativeMind]

Scientists believe that aging can increase the spread of ovarian and other cancers. Now, researchers have found that ovarian cancer cells can spread more easily in tissues that are senescent or aged because these tissues secrete a unique extracellular matrix that attracts the spreading cancer.

What they found was that the cancer cells chose to settle down more on the aged tissues; moreover, they settled closer to the aged normal cells in the cell sheets.

To figure out what was drawing the cancer cells to the aged cells, the team first wondered if they were being attracted to signaling molecules that were being secreted by the aged cells and diffusing over long distances.

What they found was surprising: It was not the diffusing molecules that were luring the cancer cells. It was proteins secreted by aged cells that settle down as the extracellular matrix (ECM)—the base on which the cells adhere and grow—that were calling the cancer cells.

The team also carried out experiments on human cell lines to replicate the predictions of the computer simulations. They noticed that the cancer cells stuck strongly to the extracellular matrix around the aged cells, and eventually cleared the aged cells away. They also noticed that the aged ECM had higher levels of proteins such as fibronectin, laminin and hyaluronan compared to the young cells' ECM, which allowed the cancer cells to bind more strongly.

Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that this could potentially be one of the reasons why aged populations typically tend to have worse outcomes in cancer than younger populations. "The fact is that chemotherapy also induces senescence, and that senescence can make things worse," says Bhat.

Thapa also hopes that future studies will build a strong case for using senolytics—drugs that kill senescent cells—to tackle cancer progression.

[ConservativeMind]

There are senolytic supplements and senolytic prescription medicines that might help.

In sum, some old cells are still alive, but not functioning, except to use nutrition from your body and to, apparently, coax cancer cells to use them to grow.

[ConservativeMind]

Some prior threads on senolytics:

https://freerepublic.com/focus/search?m=all;o=time;q=quick;s=Senolytics

[ConservativeMind]

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[Jane Long]

Quercetin for the win!!