Thanks to a study directed by Emanuele Giurisato of the Department of Molecular Medicine and Development of the University of Siena, in collaboration with the University of Manchester, an important step forward has been made in the knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate the action of macrophages in the development of tumors.
The research work, published in "Pnas", has in fact discovered the role of a particular protein, the Erk-5, in the proliferation of cancer cells, managing to highlight how the possibility of blocking it opens up to a new strategy in care. In practice, it has been proven that by eliminating the Erk-5 protein it is possible to reduce the number of Tam macrophages and block their pro-tumor activity.
Giurisanto, describing the importance of the discovery stated: "We have succeeded in demonstrating how in the mice the growth of carcinoma has been reduced in the absence of the Erk-5 protein, while at the same time an anti-tumor inflammatory situation has been created. These results - continues the scientist - increase the possibility that going to hit the pretumor macrophages through a therapy that suppresses the Erk-5 protein constitutes a new strategy for future anti-cancer treatments ".
For some years - according to a note from the University of Siena - research has focused on the possible role of macrophages in the progression and malignancy of tumors, particularly in the field of immunotherapy, but the ability to control the activity of macrophages seemed distant. The study, just published, opens up new hope, having discovered and demonstrated mechanisms for reprogramming macrophages.
Cathy Tournier of the University of Manchester and William Vermi of the University of Brescia contributed to the work. The research was supported by Marie Curie Research Fellowship, Worldwide Cancer Research, Beretta Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Italian Association for Cancer Research, IG Grant 15378.