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| Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology Dr. Yoo Kwon’s research team identified the cause of eating disorders caused by cancer. The photo shows Dr. Yoo Kwon (center) of the research team (provided by Myung Yeon) © News1 |
Researchers in Korea have discovered a mechanism by which certain proteins secreted by cancer cells regulate appetite-regulating hormones through specific receptors in the brain nerve cells.
This is to determine the cause of eating disorders in cancer patients, and it is expected that the effect of chemotherapy can be greatly improved if it leads to the development of a therapeutic agent that can regulate the signaling system by a specific protein (Dilp8/INSL3).
The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (hereinafter referred to as the Life Research Institute) has conducted a joint research with Dr. Yoo Kwon’s research team at the Disease Target Structure Research Center and Dr. Gyu-seon Lee at the Bionano Research Center through a joint research with Professor Jae-myung Seo’s team at KAIST and Song-cheol Kim (co-corresponding author) at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. It was announced on the 18th that the research result was achieved.
Cancer cachexia-anorxia syndrome, a typical complication of cancer patients, is accompanied by severe eating disorders and persistent weight loss.
Although it is known to adversely affect cancer patient survival and chemotherapy, the cause of eating disorders in cancer patients was not known.
The research team confirmed that the expression and secretion of a specific protein (Dilp8 peptide) derived from cancer cells was significantly increased through the Drosophila cancer model and RNA transcript analysis.
In addition, it was found that the expression of a neuropeptide hormone involved in appetite regulation through the receptor (Lgr3) of cranial nerve cells was changed, thereby inducing an eating disorder in a Drosophila cancer model.
Based on these findings, Professor Jae-Myung Seo’s team at KAIST Graduate School of Medical Science found that even in mouse cancer models, INSL3, a homologous factor with a specific protein (Dilp8 peptide), was significantly increased, leading to eating disorders.
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| Mechanism model of onset of eating disorders caused by cancer (provided by Life Insurance) © News1 |
In particular, it was confirmed that food intake and weight were reduced when the protein secreted from cancer cells (INSL3) was injected directly into the mouse brain.
Furthermore, Professor Kim Song-cheol’s team at Asan Medical Center conducted a clinical relevance study on pancreatic cancer patients with the highest incidence of cachexia.
As a result, it was confirmed that the concentration of the protein (INSL3) was high in pancreatic cancer patients who showed an eating disorder.
This fact can be seen that the protein secreted from cancer cells (INSL3) acts on the nerve cells involved in the regulation of appetite in the cranial nervous system, thereby reducing the appetite of cancer patients.
This can be said to be the discovery that the protein (INSL3), a cancer secreting substance, acts as an important signal factor inducing eating disorders in cancer patients.
Dr. Yoo Kwon, the research director, said, “The medical demand for improvement of cachexia, which is a remarkable symptom of systemic weakness in cancer patients, is very high, but there are still no cases of drug development.” It is done.”
On the other hand, this research star was published in the online edition of February 9, 2021,’Nature Journal of Cellular Biology’, a world-class journal in the field of biology.