The naturally occurring protein called ASPP2 (Apoptosis-stimulating of p53 protein 2) has been shown to be the initiator of cancer metastasis and was shown to prevent the spread of cancer through metastasis. Xin Lu, Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Oxford and a Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, and Yajun Guo of The Second Military Medical University in Shanghai in China are the first to make the connection.
The researchers found that ASPP2 naturally controls the conversion of epithelial cells throughout the body from an immobile rigid state to a motile and flexible form. The action of ASPP2 was shown to have the same effect on the movement of cancer cells. Movement of cancer cells from one location in the body to another is called metastasis and is one of the more deadly results of cancer.
Low levels of ASPP2 produced a rapid metastasis of breast cancer cells into the brain in a mouse model. Full expression of the function of the ASPP2 protein reduced metastasis dramatically in mice. The activity of ASPP2 in cancer in humans was verified through blood samples. The same activity occurs in humans.
The researchers have discovered a switch that can naturally turn off the spread of cancer. The benefit of the protein being already resident in humans is that using the protein as a treatment to stop the spread of cancer should present no side effects. This is not a cure for cancer but it does provide a known means to treat cancer to prevent its spread.
