Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » In Colon Cancer, Scientists Discover ‘Two-Faced’ Cells
Uncategorized

In Colon Cancer, Scientists Discover ‘Two-Faced’ Cells

By Marla PaulDec 13, 2012
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Khashayarsha Khazaie, PhD, research associate professor at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, led a team of researchers that discovered immune cells which can suppress or promote tumor growth in colorectal cancer.

Northwestern Medicine researchers have discovered a “two-faced” group of cells at work in human colon cancer, with opposing functions that can suppress or promote tumor growth. These cells are a subset of T-regulatory (Treg) cells, known to suppress immune responses in healthy individuals. 

In this previously unknown Treg subset, the presence of the protein RORγt has been shown to differentiate between cancer-protecting and cancer-promoting properties. 

The Feinberg team, led by Khashayarsha Khazaie, PhD, research associate professor at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, recently reported their findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine. 

“The subset of Tregs that expand in human colon cancer is different from the Tregs that abound in healthy individuals in their ability to suppress inflammation,” Khazaie said. “Since their discovery, Tregs have been assumed to be harmful in cancer based on the knowledge that they suppress immunity. More recent clinical studies have challenged this notion. Our work shows that Tregs, by suppressing inflammation, are normally very protective in cancer; it is rather their switch to the expression of RORγt that is detrimental.” 

The team’s work builds on observations, which demonstrated that the transfer of Tregs from healthy mice to mice with colitis or colitis-induced cancer actually protected the mice from colitis and colitis-induced cancer. 

After identifying the abnormal Treg subset in mice with hereditary colon cancer, Khazaie and lead author Nichole Blatner, PhD, research assistant professor at the Lurie Cancer Center, worked with Mary Mulcahy, MD, associate professor of hematology and oncology, radiology, and organ transplantation, and David Bentrem, MD, Harold L. and Margaret N. Method Research Professor in Surgery and associate professor in medical social sciences, to look for the same cells in colon cancer patients.

“To our delight, we found the same Treg alterations in cancer patients,” said Khazaie. 

Of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon and rectum) is the second leading cancer killer in the United States. In 2012, approximately 140,000 Americans were diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer, while more than 50,000 deaths occurred from either cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

“The significance of our discovery became apparent when by inhibiting RORgt in Tregs we were able to protect mice against hereditary colon cancer,” Khazaie said.

He notes that several ongoing clinical trials exist based on targeted elimination of all Tregs in cancer patients. However, the discovery of Treg diversity in cancer, and its central role in control of cancer inflammation, may lead to new approaches for therapeutics. 

“Tregs are actually very useful in the fight against cancer,” he said. “We can do better by targeting RORγt or other molecules that are responsible for the expansion of this Treg subset, instead of indiscriminately eliminating all Tregs. We are very excited about the therapeutic options that targeting specific subsets of Tregs could provide in human solid tumor cancers, and that is our next immediate goal.” 

Khazaie’s team is moving forward with plans to test novel drugs that inhibit RORγt. 

The research was made possible by philanthropic support through the Lurie Cancer Center and Steven Rosen, MD, director of the Lurie Cancer Center and the Genevieve E. Teuton Professor of Medicine at the Feinberg School. 

Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Emerging Therapy for Relapsed Lymphoma

Aug 12, 2022

Scientists Identify Key Mechanism Controlling Skin Regeneration

Aug 11, 2022

Scientists Discover Novel Cellular Mechanisms Behind Transcription Elongation

Aug 10, 2022

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Emerging Therapy for Relapsed Lymphoma

Aug 12, 2022

Scientists Identify Key Mechanism Controlling Skin Regeneration

Aug 11, 2022

Scientists Discover Novel Cellular Mechanisms Behind Transcription Elongation

Aug 10, 2022

First-Year Medical Students Celebrate Founders’ Day 2022

Aug 9, 2022

‘Inside Out’ Signaling Promotes Tumor Growth

Aug 5, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
egn-flickr
Founders' Day 2022_EGN-retouched
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1676
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1206
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1144 (1)
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1133
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1057
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1424
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1472
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1573
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1671
220805_SERIO_MANDELL_FEINBERG_White_Coat_1793

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.