Research Indicates That Long-Term Skin Irritation And Inflammation Increases Risk Of Tumor Growth
Source: Thailand Medical News Jan 15, 2020 4 years, 10 months, 1 week, 15 hours, 52 minutes ago
A new research has shown that an antibody that usually helps defend the
skin against harmful substances or infections may promote
tumor growth during chronic tissue
inflammation.
The
skin's defenses against environmental assault can help
tumors to grow when
skin is exposed to chronic
inflammation, finds a study in mice published in
eLife.
Typically, the
IgE antibody is most commonly known for its inadvertent involvement in allergic reactions, but it is commonly found in healthy
skin and believed to protect against harmful substances or parasitic infections.
However, this study shows that chronic
inflammation caused by repeated exposure to
skin-irritating chemicals may turn this helpful defense into a harmful one. Understanding more about this process may help scientists develop ways to prevent or treat
skin cancer.
Lead author Dr Mark Hayes, who was a postdoctoral scientist at Imperial's Department of Immunology and
Inflammation, at the time the study was carried out told
Thailand Medical News via a phone interview, "Chronic
inflammation has been linked to many types of
cancers, and may cause these by enabling the growth and survival of cells with
cancer-causing mutations. But the exact steps in this process and the role of
IgE were not previously clear."
To understand more, Dr Hayes and his colleagues looked at what happened after
inflammation-causing substances were applied to the
skin. They saw an increase in the amount of
IgE produced and that immune cells called basophils were attracted to the
skin. When the basophils were activated by
IgE, they stimulated skin cells to divide and grow.
Dr Hayes added, "
IgE fortifies the
skin barrier defenses by promoting cell growth to thicken the surface of the
skin in response to noxious stimuli. However, this response should be temporary. If it persists in the long term, it may lead to
tumor growth."
The research team found that in mice with
cancer-causing mutations, chronic activation of
IgE caused by
inflammation subverts its protective effects and supports the growth of precancerous skin cells into tumors. On the other hand, mice lacking
IgE were protected from developing these
tumors in response to
inflammation.
However, the results of a previous study by the team showed that
IgE protects mice against
cancer
gt;-causing substances that damage DNA. This suggests that the mechanism of tumor growth, and the role of IgE in this process, may depend on different kinds of environmental exposure.
Senior author Dr Jessica Strid, Reader in Cellular Immunology at the Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Imperial College London, also told Thailand Medical News, "Our previous and current findings reveal a strong link between IgE and cancer. But the biological consequences of IgE engagement in the skin clearly depends on the nature of the antibodies and the microenvironment in which the tumor grows."
Reference : Mark David Hayes et al. Inflammation-induced IgE promotes epithelial hyperplasia and tumour growth, eLife (2020). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.51862
