UC Merced scientist finds link between brain, cancer cell growth

An assistant professor at UC Merced’s School of Natural Sciences has discovered a link between cancer cell growth and the nervous system after five years of research.

The findings published this month in Néstor J. Oviedo’s study was the first evidence in 30 years that shows how the brain is involved in cancer cells continuing to multiply. Through tests on flatworms, Oviedo found a significant understanding of cancer cells, what controls or targets them and how to start further research to treat them.

“The idea will be to develop a particular type of medicine that would be specific to treat specific cancer cells that don’t disrupt normal cells,” Oviedo said.

The treatment for cancer available now targets all cells, Oviedo said, not just the cells with DNA damage. When all cells are targeted, even the good ones the human body needs, it results in cancer patients becoming and looking very ill, Oviedo said.

“This is important because DNA damage is one of the earliest manifestations of cancer,” Oviedo said.

To figure out the brain has some type of control that targets cells with damaged DNA, Oviedo decided to use flatworms as specimens because they develop cancer like humans do. “We have a similar recipe,” Oviedo said.

Thirty years ago, Oviedo said it was discovered that cells in the upper half of the body behave differently than cells in the lower half.

“When there is DNA damage, the cell in the interior (upper) part of the animal act very different than the posterior (lower) part,” Oviedo said.

The cells on the upper half of the body containing damaged DNA try to divide and multiply, creating more cancer cells, while cells on the lower half with damaged DNA die, destroying the cancer cells.

By damaging the flatworms’ DNA cells, Oviedo and his team of graduate students and one staff member were trying to further understand how cells respond to tissue damage.

“If we understand how (flatworm) cells respond to tissue damage, then we have a better chance to see how humans respond,” Oviedo said.

Thousands of flatworm brains were dissected and flatworm bodies were split in two to separate the bottom and top halves. When brain functions were induced on the lower half of the flatworm’s body, damaged DNA cells began to multiply just like the top half of the body.

“This is like a corrupt policeman allowing bad stuff to happen in their presence,” Oviedo said. “Something from the brain is altering the behavior of the cells with DNA damage.”

The next question Oviedo said he wants to answer is, “What neuro signal is actually coordinating this process?”

Oviedo said he is also interested to see if there is a particular cell that is most important in driving the process of DNA-damaged cells continuing to multiply.

Although figuring out these questions will take years of more research and tests, Oviedo said he would continue to use flatworms to find out and hopes to eventually move onto vertebrates and more human-like animals.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "UC Merced scientist finds link between brain, cancer cell growth."