Climate Change and Cancer Imaging: A Big Week In The World of Science

I know that all eyes are on the Copenhagen Climate Summit, which is indeed a big deal, but that doesn't stop all of those lab coat-clad researchers and scientists from pressing on. Still, if you'd like to stay up-to-date with the latest goings on from the Cop15, you can do so at the Cop15 official website. There you'll find news updates, as well as some great blogs dedicated to keeping up with the events of this monumental summit. I personally will be keeping my ear to the ground as the meeting proceeds, and although my hopes are high for swift and firm action on curbing our negative impact on the environment and I know that I'm bound to be disappointed, I'm just excited to see the meeting draw such attention from the media. After all, the more time the Cop15 gets in the news, the more John D. down the street, who could care less about climate change, is exposed to it. And this generally translates to a populace that is more knowledgeable, and hopefully, more mindful of our effects on the planet. It's a winning proposition.

Having said that, I couldn't resist posting this video that I found on the Science News website. The video is from a presentation by Erik Sahai, a researcher at the London Research Institute, that was given at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Diego. Although the details of their imaging method are still a bit unclear to me, this research group was able to conclude that signaling by the cytokine TGF-beta is responsible for single-cell metastasis in breast cancer using real-time fluorescence imaging analysis. For clarity, the abstract from the ASCB meeting has been quoted below:

Imaging the metastatic process E. Sahai1; S. Giampieri1 1. Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, London, United Kingdom.

Cancer cells can invade surrounding tissue either as single cells or in collective units. We use intravital imaging to demonstrate a reversible transition to a motile state as breast cancer cells spread. Imaging primary tumours reveals heterogeneity in cell morphology and motility. Two distinct modes of motility are observed: collective and single-celled. By monitoring the localisation of Smad2 and the activity of a TGFβ-dependent reporter gene during breast cancer cell dissemination we demonstrate that TGFβ signalling is transiently and locally activated in motile single cells. TGFβ1 switches cells from cohesive to single cell motility through a transcriptional programme involving Smad4, EGFR, Nedd9, and numerous regulators of actomyosin contraction: M-RIP, FARP and RhoC. In contrast, different regulators of the actomyosin cytoskeleton are used during collective invasion. Blockade of TGFβ signalling prevents cells moving singly in vivo but does not inhibit cells moving collectively. Cells restricted to collective invasion are capable of lymphatic invasion but not blood-borne metastasis. Constitutive TGFβ signalling promotes single cell motility and intravasation but reduces subsequent growth in the lungs. Thus, transient TGFβ signalling is optimal for blood-borne metastasis.

If, like me, you didn't totally understand every single little tiny syllable of the abstract, have no fear. Without knowing all of the background of the project, the video is still pretty cool. And the caption explains a lot. And so, without further ado, I give you a rare look at the process of cancer metastasis:

How cancer cells move and spread from Science News on Vimeo.

Breast cancer cells (shown in green) individually peel off from the main tumor when they get a "go" signal from a type of growth factor called TGF-beta. Cells can also move in clumps, but that migration is not controlled by TGF-beta, shows a new study presented at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting. Immune cells called macrophages are shown in red and connective tissue appears in cyan and magenta.

Credit: Erik Sahai - Cancer Research UK