Identifying a set of microproteins produced in liver tumors might pave the way for the development of cancer vaccines, according to research published in the journal Science Advances.
The research team, led by the Hospital del Mar research institute in Barcelona, studied tumor and healthy tissue data from over 100 liver cancer patients and identified a group of small molecules unique to liver tumors, namely very small proteins which are expressed only by cancer cells. This discovery was made possible through a combination of computational techniques combined with laboratory experiments.
The study of microproteins, the researchers emphasize, might lead to the development of new treatments. As noted, the development of cancer vaccines relies on the immune system’s ability to recognize foreign molecules that are not part of the body, and mutations in cancer cells create foreign peptides that alert the immune system. However, the challenge lies in cancers that have low mutation rates, such as liver cancer.
“We saw that some of these microproteins can stimulate the immune system, potentially creating a response once morest cancer cells. This response can be boosted by vaccines similar to the coronavirus vaccines, but which produce these microproteins. These vaccines might stop or reduce the growth of tumors,” explains researcher Puri Fortes from Cima University in Navarre and the biomedical research center CIBERehd.
Administering these vaccines might be relatively simple, the researchers note, although research into their development has not yet begun.
Source: RES-MPE
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