Study Identifies Gene Linking Chronic Inflammation to Cancer
Wynnewood, PA, October 26, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Many cancers are believed to be caused or accelerated by chronic inflammation, such as skin, lung, colon, and prostate cancers. Genes that connect inflammation and cancer are of great medical interest because they may offer tactics to prevent or treat these diseases. Today, a team of researchers at the Lankenau Institute of Medical Research (LIMR) and the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) report the discovery that a gene called IDO is needed to link inflammation to cancer formation.
The findings by this team, headed up by Drs. Alexander Muller and George C. Prendergast at LIMR and Drs. David Munn, Madhav Sharma, and Andrew Mellor at MCG, are reported in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), entitled “Chronic inflammation that facilitates tumor progression creates local immune suppression by inducing indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase”. In their study, the authors show that IDO, an immunosuppressive gene needed to preserve pregnancy, protects the outgrowth of tumors in the setting of chronic inflammation.
This study emerged from long-standing work in cancer genetics and immunology conducted at LIMR and MCG. According to Dr. Muller, the lead author of the study, “Our studies initially showed that mouse strains lacking the IDO gene were highly resistant to developing skin cancers driven by chronic inflammation. We found that IDO was switched on in the inflammatory environment, thereby dampening the ability of the immune system to attack tumor cells. However, in the absence of IDO, the immune system’s ability to attack was not dampened and the mice became cancer-resistant.”
The significance of the team’s findings is that they provide the first genetic demonstration of an essential role for IDO in tumor development against which an IDO-blocking drug now starting clinical trials may be effective. As Dr. Muller continued, “Our findings indicate that IDO is an integral component of chronic inflammation that primes the immune environment to protect tumors, even at the earliest stages of their development. The therapeutic implication is that drugs which block IDO may help the body mount an effective immune attack against inflammation-driven cancers.”
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Founded in 1927, the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research center located in suburban Philadelphia on the campus of the Lankenau Hospital. As part of the Main Line Health System, LIMR is one of the few freestanding, hospital-associated medical research centers in the nation. The faculty and staff at the Institute are dedicated to advancing an understanding of the causes of cancer and heart disease. They use this information to help improve diagnosis and treatment of these diseases as well as find ways to prevent them. They are also committed to extending the boundaries of human health and well-being through technology transfer and education directed at the scientific, clinical, business and lay public communities. For more information visit their web site at www.limr.org.
###
The findings by this team, headed up by Drs. Alexander Muller and George C. Prendergast at LIMR and Drs. David Munn, Madhav Sharma, and Andrew Mellor at MCG, are reported in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), entitled “Chronic inflammation that facilitates tumor progression creates local immune suppression by inducing indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase”. In their study, the authors show that IDO, an immunosuppressive gene needed to preserve pregnancy, protects the outgrowth of tumors in the setting of chronic inflammation.
This study emerged from long-standing work in cancer genetics and immunology conducted at LIMR and MCG. According to Dr. Muller, the lead author of the study, “Our studies initially showed that mouse strains lacking the IDO gene were highly resistant to developing skin cancers driven by chronic inflammation. We found that IDO was switched on in the inflammatory environment, thereby dampening the ability of the immune system to attack tumor cells. However, in the absence of IDO, the immune system’s ability to attack was not dampened and the mice became cancer-resistant.”
The significance of the team’s findings is that they provide the first genetic demonstration of an essential role for IDO in tumor development against which an IDO-blocking drug now starting clinical trials may be effective. As Dr. Muller continued, “Our findings indicate that IDO is an integral component of chronic inflammation that primes the immune environment to protect tumors, even at the earliest stages of their development. The therapeutic implication is that drugs which block IDO may help the body mount an effective immune attack against inflammation-driven cancers.”
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Founded in 1927, the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research center located in suburban Philadelphia on the campus of the Lankenau Hospital. As part of the Main Line Health System, LIMR is one of the few freestanding, hospital-associated medical research centers in the nation. The faculty and staff at the Institute are dedicated to advancing an understanding of the causes of cancer and heart disease. They use this information to help improve diagnosis and treatment of these diseases as well as find ways to prevent them. They are also committed to extending the boundaries of human health and well-being through technology transfer and education directed at the scientific, clinical, business and lay public communities. For more information visit their web site at www.limr.org.
###
Contact
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Tava Shanchuk
610-645-3429
www.limr.org
Erin DeStefano
(610) 645-8144
Tava Shanchuk
610-645-3429
www.limr.org
Erin DeStefano
(610) 645-8144
Contact
Categories