Tag : Granules

Washington: Because it causes an ongoing inflammatory condition, obesity is known to increase the chance of developing at least 13 different forms of cancer. One scientist has questioned whether there is more to the story than simply inflammation for years. According to recent research from the lab of Dr Elda Grabocka, obesity may play a new role in the development of pancreatic cancer, which has an 11% five-year survival rate for most patients. In a study that was published in Cancer Discovery, the researchers discovered that stress granules are much more common in patients with pancreatic cancer related to obesity than they are in non-obese patients. More importantly, they discovered that blocking the formation of these granules stopped cancer growth in animals. The study suggests a fresh approach to creating cancer treatments. "Stress granule research is exploding right now, but there's still a lot we don't know regarding what they're made of and how they work," says Dr Grabocka, who is a researcher with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center - Jefferson Health and an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University. "This work is the first to show that an overload of stress granules enables tumour growth in the pancreas. Our experiments in mice also showed a complete reversal of cancer growth in the lab." A unique type of cellular compartment is the stress granule. In response to stress and to prevent self-destruction brought on by stress, the cell produces these non-membrane organelles. The animal and plant kingdoms both have this cellular reaction and defence mechanism. To safeguard their cells, even tomato plants release stress granules. These organelles' composition and precise mechanism of protection for the cell are yet unknown ...