Cancer cells are able to evade chemotherapy by hiding in the blood vessel lining, which are corrupt endothelial cells. When blood cells are exposed to chemotherapy, these endothelial cells become more corrupt and protect the cancer cells from the therapy. This allows the cancer cells to continue to grow and spread.
In a recent study, researchers looked at how endothelial cells become corrupt and how this affects chemotherapy. They found that when endothelial cells are exposed to chemotherapy, they produce a protein called P-glycoprotein. This protein protects the cancer cells by pumping them out of the blood vessel and into the body, where they are safe from the chemotherapy.
P-glycoprotein is normally present in healthy cells, but the amount produced by endothelial cells is much higher. This suggests that the chemotherapy is causing the cells to produce more P-glycoprotein, which in turn is protecting the cancer cells.
The study also showed that when endothelial cells are not exposed to chemotherapy, they do not produce P-glycoprotein. This means that the cancer cells are not protected and are more likely to be killed by the therapy.
This research provides new insight into how cancer cells evade chemotherapy and could lead to new ways to treat the disease.
Corrupt endothelial cells could be one reason why some people with blood cancer don’t respond to treatment with chemotherapy, new research suggests.
The findings, published in the journal Cell, provide fresh insights into how blood cancer cells evade destruction by chemotherapy drugs, and could lead to the development of new treatments that are more effective.
In the study, the scientists looked at how a type of blood cancer called leukemia responds to treatment with a chemotherapy drug called doxorubicin.
They found that corrupt endothelial cells – which line the blood vessels – create a shield around leukemia cells that prevents the drug from reaching them.
What’s more, the researchers found that the more corrupt the endothelial cells, the more resistant the leukemia cells were to treatment.
The findings could explain why some people with blood cancer don’t respond to treatment with chemotherapy, and why their cancer often comes back after treatment.
The scientists say that the findings could lead to the development of new treatments that target corrupt endothelial cells, and improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Colorado, the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Bonn in Germany.
