FAQ: Tumor stem cells

7 facts about the structure of tumors and the latest methods of treatment

Cancer is a major cause of death, and the attention of scientists focused on this issue very strongly. In order to cure the tumor, we need to know where you want to strike, to kill her. In fact, there is a constant race - researchers need to learn something new, to be able to treat cancer more effectively. Periodically there are facts that are fundamentally changing the way we look at it as there are formed and grow tumors. And it makes scientists look for new methods of treating cancer.

• 1.One such discovery - the discovery of tumor stem cells, which was done in the 1991 year. To understand what it is, we must first understand the device to normal tissues. Normal tissue cells are formed and are of two types. There are tissues where cells exist throughout their lives, they do not fall, do not breed. The most famous example - is the brain cells, neurons. Their number is not in the adult body increases, but gradually decreases as age neurons die.
• 2.There are other tissues in which cells work "to the bottom", and quickly dies. Why is that? For example, because they can exist in adverse conditions, the cells of the intestinal epithelium, which live in a very aggressive environment. The cells of the intestinal epithelium in working condition (ie, when they are differentiated to perform its functions and work) live 3 - 5 days. They were replaced by new cells must come. The cells in such tissues continuously updated, and the update to occur, fabric arranged as follows: - there are several types of cells in them.
• 3.The first type of cell - this stem cells such "lazy-cells." They sit, rarely shared and very "cherish" itself to the cell does not hurt. The body tries to hide them in some secluded place. Stem cells do not divide frequently especially - during cell division is easily damaged. Such a cell is necessary for life to exist, because it will provide update those cells that are doomed to failure, such as intestinal epithelial cells. Sometimes a stem cell divides, and part of her descendants remains in a state of stem cells, and some - gives rise to renewed population. These descendants (second part) begin to rapidly divide, and when it takes several rounds, division stops, slows down, and the cell starts to differentiate, that is, acquires features of the structure and operation, allowing it to effectively perform the function for which it was created. Then the cell works for some time, until this work is effective, and then dies. And this population is actively updated.
• 4.What is the tumor cells? These are the cells that are "mad", they behave properly, not as the body needs. There is a complex structure described above, when the body is controlled, so you have not formed too many cells of the intestinal epithelium, and there is too little, that's too bad. A tumor - a cell, go Haywire. To improve our life buy Peptides (Cytomax) Bonomarlot, Vladonix for prevention cancer.
• 5.We can assume that all the tumor cells are able to divide the same and each of them can give a new tumor. Is it so? At some point it turned out that there is. work has been done, which took decades and required a very heavy training. The studies revealed that the composition is not the same tumor cells. On their surface membrane proteins can be different, and these proteins using antibodies different cells can be selected. And in one of the tumor (which was first found in chronic myelogenous leukemia), a small group of cells was found less than 0.1% of the total, with certain characteristics that are a little different from the main mass of cells.
• Then a very simple experiment was: These cells enter the mouse and tested forms of these tumors or not. Other cells, 99.9% of which have entered the same mouse. They found a very strange thing: few of these cells - a tumor is formed; and from the main mass of cells - the tumor is not formed. An idea may be, here are a few cells - is just full analogue of stem cells, which are responsible for the update of this tissue. Yes, it's a tumor, but it is also the fabric, and it is also heterogeneous in structure - it has cells that are responsible for the update, and the main mass of tumor mass in this case which can not fully reproduce the tumor. It was a very unusual idea, and scientists have just tested long enough to take a variety of tumors, looking for confirmation. In many tumors (not all) do, such a device has been found: heterogeneous cells, some of them (they were called tumor stem cells) are responsible for the update of the tumor, and the majority simply exists.
• 6.Why is this so important? It would seem, we found the option for which the tumor slightly similar to normal tissue ... in the end, they do occur from normal tissues. And this is why it is important that as soon as people come to terms with the fact that tumor stem cells exist, they are aware of the fact that we are wrong to treat the tumor. When a doctor treats a tumor, the main objective of it is to reduce the tumor mass. When a scientist looking for a cure, to treat a tumor then, it looks primarily at in order to reduce tumor mass. And what happens at the level of tumor stem cells? Maybe reducing the tumor mass, we kill the principal amount of the cells, but whether we kill with stem cells or not? After all, if we do not kill, from stem cells to grow new tumors, and relapse is inevitable. At the same time, it became clear how to treat it. It is necessary to do so to directly hit the tumor stem cells. If we hit them, will not even need to remove the rest of the tumor - destroying only a small population, the share of interest, but the rest of the tumor is maintained by cancer stem cells ... the tumor itself will die, it will melt. And at some point, scientists have realized that it is necessary to search for drugs, ways to destroy the tumor stem cells directly.
• 7.So far, it looks fantastic, although the first works in mice is already underway. It is hoped that it will be able to destroy the tumor stem cells. So far we know very little. We know that they exist, we know about some of their features, sometimes we know where they come from. But as we learn more, and there will be new drugs will be ways to cure those patients who are as yet incurable.