There is a protein, which is called SNAI2, that’s when it is superexpressed, that is, when it is present in excessive quantities, it prevents the precursors of the muscle cells from maturing, differentiating and becoming muscle fibers, as in fact they should. And that instead pushes them, on the contrary, to multiply without stopping, and then to spread, and then to migrate, giving rise to rhabdomyosarcoma, a form of cancer that accounts for 7-8% of all solid tumors in children.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, diet and physical activity potentiate chemo
by Tina Simoniello
The researchers of theBambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome in collaboration with the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute of San Antonio in Texas and with the National Cancer Institute of Bethesda in Maryland, paving the way for new treatments against. The results of the work are published on Nature Communications.
Migraine in children, a supplement can reduce pain
What are we talking about
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a soft tissue sarcoma, that is, one of those tumors that develop in the muscles, tissue, adipose or connective tissue. At its origin is the transformation into a tumor sense of rhabdomyoblasts, the cells from which voluntary skeletal muscles originate. It is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents, that is, between zero and 19 years. In this age group, the disease accounts for 2% of cancer cases and 36% of malignant soft tissue tumors. The disease has a bimodal course, that is, it has two peaks in incidence, the first between 2 and 6 years and the second between 10 and 18. If at the time of diagnosis the tumor is localized, that is, it has not invaded other sites distant from that of origin, the prognosis is good. Already metastatic tumors, on the other hand, tend to recur and not respond to conventional therapy, and in these cases the 5-year survival can be even less than 30% (source: Airc and Opbg).
In Rome, the world’s first trachea transplant on a post Covid patient
by Irma D’Aria
The discovery
In rhabdomyosarcoma, as we said, SNAI2 is over-expressed, that is, there is a lot, there is more than there should be. This is due to another protein, the MYOD, which promotes the transcription, i.e. the production, of SNAY2. But what are the relationships between these two molecules? “In the course of embryonic life there is a phase in which the cells that will become muscles, or other tissues, must increase in number, and it is the proliferative phase – he explains Rossella Rota, biologist of the research area of genetics and epigenetics of rare tumors of the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital, and one of the signatories of the paper -. When these cells reach a certain number, the proliferative process slows down and they begin to differentiate, that is, to acquire the characteristics of the tissue they will form, in this case the muscle. During the proliferative phase MYOD stimulates the proliferation genes, including that of SNAI2. Then, later, MYOD, which is a key molecule for muscle development, stops doing so and activates the differentiation genes, that is, those that push cells to mature. Here, in rhabdomyosarcoma this passage on SNAI2 is not there: MYOD continues to stimulate the SNAY2 gene even when differentiation begins. Consequently, proliferation continues ”.
Children / Naples
Covid: “We kept mothers and babies always in contact”
by Paolo Popoli
“Space for Children”, the interactive game that helps children cope with the pandemic will be available from 4 April
by Claudia Carucci
The competition
“In addition to this – continues the researcher – we have discovered that SNAI2 and MYOD compete with each other to bind to the same DNA region, in particular the region on which the differentiation genes are located. But once there MYOD stimulates these genes, while SNAI2 suppresses them. In other words, due to SNAI2, the rhabdomyoblasts do not become muscle cells, but continue to proliferate, and therefore to migrate, and therefore to colonize other sites, that is, they transform into a tumor “.
The tour / Piedmont
From hi-tech to narrative medicine: excellence despite the pandemic
of Mariachiara Giacosa
Hug your baby, he will be a more empathetic adult
by Priscilla Di Thiene
That SNAI2 inhibits cell differentiation and that it is involved in the development of other cancers was already known. However, what was not known until now is that this protein was involved in rhabdomyosarcoma. The authors of the paper with this work demonstrated that SNAI2 is much more present in rhabdomyosarcoma samples than in healthy muscle tissues and other types of tumors and discovered how the survival of rhabdomyosarcoma cells is closely linked to its presence.
The therapeutic possibilities
But what does all this mean by the terms of care? How can this discovery reach, starting from the laboratory, the bed of young patients?
“For localized rhabdomyosarcoma, today the therapy is surgical, when instead the tumor has metastasized the treatment is multimodal – he continues Rota – that is, it consists of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, the drugs we have available do not always give good results, for this reason there is a lot of research on rhabdomyosarcoma. We are looking for new targets to hit the disease with more weapons together, putting in place combined strategies ”.
The archistar / Bologna
With the signature of Renzo Piano a pediatric hospice to “relieve” pain
by Ilaria Venturi
A new target and three possible approaches
SNAI2 is therefore a new target “That’s right. We have found a new target: by turning off the SNAI2 gene we have seen that cancer cells, both in culture and in animal models, respond more to conventional therapies “, clarifies the researcher. “But in addition to this we also discovered that the SNAI2 protein is involved in the activity of RAS, an oncogene that when it is mutated is capable of giving rise to various forms of cancer. Here, we have seen that by acting on SNAI2 we also partially reduce the oncogenic activity of RAS. This in perspective represents a second way on which we can intervene “. Is there also a third one? “There is also a third possibility: as we said SNAI2 binds to DNA to inhibit the differentiation genes. Today we do not have available drugs capable of blocking the factors that bind to the double. However, there are, although still in the preclinical study stage, some molecules that are capable of doing this. This is another possible approach ”.
Cancer, the burden of Covid-19 on children
by Tina Simoniello
.