NYSCF Innovator Discovers Cells Police Neighbors
NewsCells in healthy tissue still acquire mutations. While many of these mutations are serious, and potentially cancerous, they rarely cause large-scale change within the tissue. NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Dr. Valentina Greco and a team at Yale University published their latest work exploring this phenomenon. Described in Nature, the scientists showed that in a population of skin cells, neighboring cells don’t just sit quietly waiting to become invaded by cancerous or mutated cells, they act as cellular police regulating, corralling and even escorting mutated cells out of the tissue to keep it healthy.
This research has large implications on scientists’ understanding of tumor behavior, and could have future impact on how doctors approach cancer prevention and treatment.