To explain the functioning of the immune system in a simple way, scientists say that it is similar to the protection applied by social media users. When they see a suspicious friend request, they delete it. In the same way, the body's defense system detects cells with a dangerous profile and eradicates them.
According to a recent study, carried out by Yifat Merbl's team from the Department of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Sciences, cancer cells They have a mechanism that avoids detection by the defense system.
The research was published in the journal Nature Cancer. It explains that in cancer, abnormal proteins are produced that are presented as antigens on the cell surface. What allows this suspicious profile to go unnoticed is the mechanism of production of these antigens, in a sector called proteasome.
The proteasome is responsible for breaking down worn or damaged proteins. They found that cancer cells had a large number of proteasomes with the protein PSME4. PSME4 is a regulatory component of the proteasome that makes it difficult for the immune system to accurately identify cancer, thus weakening its response.
Merbl explained that the study “focused on the proteasome in lung cancer, but our data indicate that there are other types of cancer in which PSME4 is abnormally abundant.” Now, the laboratory is seeking to develop a treatment that reduces PSME4 levels, increasing the effect of immunotherapy.