Development of New Substance to Inhibit Cancer Progression and Metastasis

Professor Lee Jihee's Research Team at Ewha Womans University

Inhibition of Lung Cancer Metastasis Dependent on WISP-1 by Administration of CAF Conditioned Medium Exposed to Apoptotic Cancer Cells
- After subcutaneous injection of 344SQ cells into mice, cancer-associated fibroblast conditioned medium (CAF CM), conditioned medium from co-culture of apoptotic cancer cells and CAFs (ApoSQ-CAF CM), ApoSQ-CAF CM with anti-WISP-1 antibody (ApoSQ-CAF CM treated with anti-WISP-1 antibody), or ApoSQ-CAF CM with IgG (ApoSQ-CAF CM treated with IgG antibody) were administered intratumorally. The number of tumor nodules (a) and metastasis rate (b) were measured.
- Representative lung images with or without metastasis (c)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A new substance that suppresses cancer progression and metastasis has been developed by domestic researchers.

The National Research Foundation of Korea announced on the 20th that Professor Lee Ji-hee's research team at Ewha Womans University newly identified that apoptotic cancer cells target cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to induce Notch1 signal-dependent WISP-1 production, and through paracrine communication, can suppress cancer metastasis.

According to the research team, most cancer-related deaths are explained by cancer metastasis. However, despite extensive research on the mechanisms of cancer metastasis, it has not led to the development of therapeutic agents. In particular, the tumor microenvironment is known to play an important role in cancer cell growth, progression, and metastasis. Although the mechanism for removing apoptotic cancer cells, a key component of the tumor microenvironment, is known to have a significant impact on cancer-specific immunity, related research remains very limited.

The research team succeeded in developing a pharmacological composition for suppressing cancer metastasis by co-culturing CAFs, important cells constituting the tumor microenvironment, with apoptotic cancer cells and using the culture medium. Paracrine communication between CAFs and cancer cells promotes progression to malignant tumors and metastasis spread. When the composition developed by the team (culture medium of CAFs exposed to apoptotic cancer cells) was administered to tumor tissues, the expression of CAF activation markers was suppressed, thereby inhibiting cancer growth and metastasis. Conversely, administration of culture medium from CAFs exposed to apoptotic cancer cells deficient in WISP-1 reversed the anti-tumor and anti-metastatic effects. These results confirmed that WISP-1 is a key component of the culture medium responsible for suppressing cancer growth.

The research team stated, "The co-culture medium composition of CAFs and apoptotic cancer cells, which minimizes side effects of cell therapy, is expected to serve as a foundation for the development and practical application of cell therapeutics," adding, "We plan to elucidate the effects and mechanisms of cancer growth suppression and develop related anticancer immunotherapy strategies."

The research findings were published online on October 14 in the international journal Cellular & Molecular Immunology.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.