Russian scientists have discovered the cause of aggressive brain tumors

Scientists from the Immanuel Kant BFU and Lomonosov Moscow State University have found a molecular mechanism that makes tumors aggressive and resistant to treatment. This was announced on October 23 by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. "Газете.Ru ".

Some tumors can metastasize and create new foci of neoplasms in the body due to cell migration. This process is typical for gliomas and neuroblastomas. It is very difficult to fight such tumors, since chemotherapy and surgery are powerless. For treatment, it is necessary to know certain targets that can be used to get into the tumor cell.

One of these targets is the uPAR urokinase receptor, encoded by the PLAUR gene, which regulates the "restructuring" of extracellular matter in tissues. Scientists have managed to increase the activity of this gene in cells. This, in turn, led to the fact that glioma and neuroblastoma cells led to high mobility, which is characteristic of aggressive types of tumors, forming a large number of metostases.

"Artificially amplifying the PLAUR gene not only increases the mobility of cancer cells, but also comprehensively reprograms them, forcing them to turn on the genes responsible for metastasis. This explains why patients with high levels of uPAR protein (and, consequently, high activity of the PLAUR gene) in tumors often experience relapses," said Ekaterina Semina, head of the Translational Research Laboratory, Professor at the Department of Public Health and Public Health at the Immanuel Kant BFU Graduate School of Medicine.

According to the expert, the uPAR protein, due to its harmful activity, is becoming a promising "target" for new drugs that fight the appearance of tumors in the brain. In the future, it is planned to study the effect of the deactivated PLAUR gene in order to get a more complete picture.

Oncologist, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, head of the Department of antitumor drug Therapy No. 1 of the N.N. Blokhin National Research Medical Center of Oncology Elena Artamonova said on October 22 that mutations in inherited genes are the cause of the development of the most dangerous breast cancer — triple negative. These mutations are germinal, meaning they are innate DNA changes that occur in germ cells and are passed on to children from their parents.

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