Mechanism of formation of cells protecting skin from melanoma revealed
European molecular biologists have found that the formation of immune skin cells protecting a person from the development of melanoma requires high activity of the RUNX2 and RUNX3 genes. Stimulating their work will enable doctors to significantly increase the chances of carriers of this form of skin cancer to survive – according to the press service of the Swedish Karolinska Institute, TASS reports.
“Until now, we knew almost nothing about how killer cells arise inside the skin and what role they play in the fight against cancer. Uncovering the mechanisms of formation of these bodies will make a significant contribution to the development of new, more effective, forms of immunotherapy aimed at the treatment of melanoma,” said Professor Yenan Bryceson.
Melanoma is one of the forms of skin cancer, which has an increased level of danger to the life of its carriers. According to the WHO statistics, about 200-300 thousand people fall ill with it every year, and about 60 thousand more people die as a result of the development of severe forms of these neoplasms that cannot be treated.
Professor Bryceson and his colleagues have taken a big step towards creating therapies that can fight the most aggressive forms of melanoma by studying the mechanisms responsible for the formation of so-called killer cells. So biologists call a special type of T-cells that recognise tumour bodies and destroy them.
