Survival of the fittest doesn’t only happen in the wild. It
also happens in the body. When people think of apoptosis, many think of a cell
that is sick or damaged that must be removal. However, it has been discovered
that if there are weak cells surrounded by healthier cells, these weak cells
will be killed off. This is a problem when the stronger cells are cancer cells.
Molecular biologists from University of Zurich and University of Columbia have
been the first to publish that the only way for this process to happen is when
one has an innate immune system.
The biologists proved their theory with an experiment with
fruit flies. They saw that apoptosis was induced by “Spätzle”, which is a
signaling protein that binds to the Toll-related receptors. This was known
information, however; before this experiment, it was thought that this protein
only reacted to the presence of foreign bacteria and fungus. It is now known
that it also responds to less fit cells. The only part the team is not sure
about whether it is the weak cell that triggers the binding or the stronger
cells around it. As Professor Konrad Basler says, “We still don’t know whether
this involves the voluntary or forced suicide of the less-fit cells.”
While this may sound like a good thing. Weaker cells are
being conquered by healthier, stronger cells who are in better shape to do the
work it needs to. However, what happens when the stronger cells are not good
cells. This cell activity is often found in cancerous tissue. This raises big
problems. However, it gives bigger hope to cancer research. Scientists hope
that this discovery might lead to early detection of the disease, possibly
before the cells are even malignant.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141204140648.htm
