Researchers discover key protein in turning cancer aggressive

Israeli, U.S, and Swiss researchers have identified a key factor in the development of aggressive melanoma tumors, Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said in a statement on Thursday., reported Xinhua.

In a new study published in Cancer Discovery, the team explored the factors that drive a cancerous tumor to become aggressive and discovered that a small immune system protein called Mif plays a significant role in its progression in melanoma.

The researchers looked at how tumors with low variation between their cells can still behave in different ways, especially when it comes to how the immune system interacts with them.

They found that tumors that were not rejected by the immune system had more macrophage immune cells, fewer T cells, and higher levels of T cell exhaustion compared to tumors that were rejected.

By studying genes and using CRISPR to knock out certain genes, they discovered that the protein Mif (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) plays a big role in preventing the immune system from attacking the tumor. Cancer tumors without Mif grew smaller and had fewer macrophages.

Initial results were obtained in mouse model experiments and later validated by data from melanoma patients.

The researchers concluded that high levels of this protein accelerate tumor growth, undermining the immune system's ability to fight the tumor and interfering with immunotherapy treatments.

According to the researchers, the findings promise to open new directions of therapy for melanoma and other cancerous tumors that have high levels of Mif and do not respond well to immune checkpoint therapy.

Moreover, the experimental setup may also help reveal additional factors that affect the aggressiveness of tumors and increase their drug resistance.