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Targeting cancer cell suicide: a TRAIL of two faces

Anne Li                                                                                                March 12th, 2017

 

Cancer cells have a frustrating habit of finding ways to shrug off the body’s immune system. They can make themselves invisible, slam on the immune system’s brakes or shield themselves in a protective environment. And in some cases cancer cells can even rewire cellular signals to help them keep growing. The TRAIL ‘death pathway’ is one example of this. TRAIL is an immune molecule that can specifically target and kill tumour cells. But bewilderingly, in some cancers it seems that TRAIL might actually promote their growth. So what’s behind this troublesome double act? Our researchers at UCL sought to find out, and their latest study has offered some important insight into this phenomenon.

 

See original article at: https://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2017/03/09/targeting-cancer-cell-suicide-a-trail-of-two-faces/

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