Scientists at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have found a way to reactivate cancer. This new knowledge has inspired a new range of treatments aimed at preventing cancer recurrence and metastasis.

Their study found that persistent lung inflammation (including lung inflammation caused by exposure to secondhand smoke) can cause neutrophils to wake up nearby dormant cancer cells (breast and prostate cancer cells) and begin to divide. These cells usually like to form metastases in the lungs, and metastasis is the leading cause of death in most common cancers.

Neutrophils are usually used to kill invaders. There are several ways to eliminate prey. One of them is to release their DNA into the extracellular space of the cell. The excreted DNA combines with the toxic enzyme to form a thin yarn-like network traps (neutrophil extracellular traps, NETs) that kill pathogens.

New research shows that persistent inflammation forms NETs around dormant cancer cells, two enzymes in NETs (neutrophil elastase and matrix metalloproteinase 9) and laminin in tissues interacts with each other. NE and MMP9 cleave the laminin protein, changing the shape of the latter and exposing a new epitope.

This epitope is recognized by nearby cancer cells and triggers a signal to awaken cancer cells. When the dormant cancer cells recognize the new configuration, the laminin protein is activated.

The team created an antibody to block the epitope on the laminin protein, which prevents the re-awakening of dormant cancer cells in a mouse model. Currently, they have begun to optimize these antibodies and compare them to other NETs interference methods in order to ultimately test in humans to prevent cancer recurrence or reduce the frequency of recurrence.

EIAAB SCIENCE INC, WUHAN has developed ELANE protein, antibody and ELISA kit and MMP9 protein, antibody and ELISA kit.