Research
University of York scientists develop a sugar molecule to stop metastasis

University of York scientists develop a sugar molecule to stop metastasis

Living in a decent environment is a dream for many people these days but it’s not possible because of the polluted environment around us. The fact that everyone is going out daily makes them prone to diseases instantly due to all these harmful factors which range from a weak immune system, heavy pollution, food poisoning to many more. The diseases which infect people can be in both communicable & non-communicable forms & one such non-communicable disease which is spreading rapidly is cancer which leads to the development of tumor cells in the human body. It’s the major symptom of cancer & starts growing once the cancer cells drift apart from their originating place and travel towards the lymph, blood etc. which leads to the formation of tumor cells in the bones, lungs or liver of the human body.

It’s been a serious concern for a long time and to stop the spread of tumor cells scientists from the ‘University of York’ has invented a molecule to stop the growth of tumor cells from reaching the colonies and various other regions of the body. It is termed to be a result of a cooperative project & talented team of skilled researchers from 3 varied universities,i.e, the University of York, Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and Leiden University have worked on this research project to formulate a solution for preventing the expansion of tumor cells in the human bodies. All the experts indulged in profound analysis and observed that while cancer originates in the human body, a tiny structure molecule shaped just like sugar helps in maintaining that unique integrity all around the tumour which stops the evolution of tumour cells whilst untangling the cancer development too. These observations were stated by the researchers after the trial research was over in which mice were used for examination purposes. The trial experiment was performed on mice which showcased that the sugar-like molecules decrease the spread of tumours in them and it ultimately opened up the pathway for the growth of clinical applications.

When talking about cancer cells we all know that once it starts spreading in the human body then that procedure is denoted as metastasis which is a lethal symptom of cancer in the human body. These cells tend to form ‘Heparanase Enzymes’ in a large quantity which facilitates their formation around the human body. The inhibition of these heparanase enzymes leads to the development of anti-cancer therapies as per the researchers from the ‘University of York’ Dr Gideon Davies & Dr Liang Wu from the Chemistry Department, York who were the first people to show how enzymes inhibitor hinders the heparanase enzyme. After this invention, the researchers are now looking forward to formulating innovative methods that can contribute to the improvement of the sugar molecule which helps in prohibiting tumour cells in humans.

The sugar molecule was developed & tested from the perspective of checking how it reacts with the heparanase enzyme. It was observed that once the sugar molecule gets bound then it becomes impossible for the heparanase enzyme to cut or drape the heparin sugar cells which are formed around those cells. Due to this the tissue formed around the cells stays intact and far from the reach of dislodged cells in the human body.

About this research, Professor Gideon Davies from ‘University of York stated that he’s extremely delighted on seeing that the researchers have developed the molecules after doing a detailed study on the basic enzyme structure & its necessary functions which reflects that the invention of this molecule is done after a series of studies, numerous tested experiments etc and is a result of sincere hard work, commitment and dedication towards the project. He’s overwhelmed by knowing that the enzymes have been transformed into small sugar-like molecules & also exhibit potent anti-cancer activities.

Now talking about the main aspect of this research project that whether it’s safe for the human’s there were few statements made by Professor Hermen Overkleeft who’s the lead author of this research. He said that though the trial was successful still it’s a long way to find out whether it works on the humans in the same way as it worked on the mice. According to him this process would take time, maybe years and involve huge financial risk and funding so somebody has to come forward to take this risk. He also said that the sugar molecule developed by them is one of the few agents that can easily inhibit the heparanase enzyme due to its simple and tiny structure.

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