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Protein fuels inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors

Date:
February 23, 2011
Source:
Rockefeller University Press
Summary:
Two separate studies identify a protein that drives tumor-promoting inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors.
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Separate studies published online on February 21 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine identify a protein that drives tumor-promoting inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors.

Inflammatory reactions come in several flavors -- Th1 and Th2, for example -- each classified according to the proteins, or cytokines, that predominate. Tumors are often infiltrated with cells that produce Th2 cytokines, which some studies suggest drive tumor growth. However, the signals responsible for initiating and maintaining Th2 inflammation in tumors are not fully understood.

Karolina Palucka and colleagues now find that human breast cancer cells release the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and that TSLP drives Th2 inflammation in human breast tumors. Maria Pia Protti and coworkers report that TSLP derived from fibroblasts -- cells that provide support to tumors -- fuels Th2 inflammation in human pancreatic tumors.

Although the cellular sources of TSLP differ between the two tumor types examined in these studies, the end result -- Th2 inflammation -- is the same. Future work is needed to determine if therapies targeting TSLP can help to block tumor growth.


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Materials provided by Rockefeller University Press. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal References:

  1. Alexander Pedroza-Gonzalez, Kangling Xu, Te-Chia Wu, Caroline Aspord, Sasha Tindle, Florentina Marches, Michael Gallegos, Elizabeth C. Burton, Daniel Savino, Toshiyuki Hori, Yuetsu Tanaka, Sandra Zurawski, Gerard Zurawski, Laura Bover, Yong-Jun Liu, Jacques Banchereau, and A. Karolina Palucka. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin fosters human breast tumor growth by promoting type 2 inflammation. J Exp Med, February 21, 2011 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20102131
  2. Lucia De Monte, Michele Reni, Elena Tassi, Daniela Clavenna, Ilenia Papa, Helios Recalde, Marco Braga, Valerio Di Carlo, Claudio Doglioni, and Maria Pia Protti. Intratumor T helper type 2 cell infiltrate correlates with cancer-associated fibroblast thymic stromal lymphopoietin production and reduced survival in pancreatic cancer. J. Exp. Med., 2011 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20101876

Cite This Page:

Rockefeller University Press. "Protein fuels inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 February 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110221120951.htm>.
Rockefeller University Press. (2011, February 23). Protein fuels inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 5, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110221120951.htm
Rockefeller University Press. "Protein fuels inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110221120951.htm (accessed December 5, 2024).

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