SAN DIEGO, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A protein called p100, part of both cell development and cell defense, may be the link between inflammation and cancer, say U.S. researchers.
Alexander Hoffmann and colleagues at the University of San Diego, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology explored the cellular mechanisms behind chronic inflammation.
They originally thought that normal cellular development and inflammation -- the cell's response to danger -- were two separate processes but found that they are actually linked by p100, which participates in both pathways.
The authors explained that p100 is used in certain steps in cell development but is produced at high levels when injury or invading organisms cause inflammation.
When inflammation becomes chronic, the body is exposed to high levels of p100 over long periods of time.
Chronic inflammation is an out-of-control response to danger, and since cancer is out-of-control cellular growth and development, the scientists thought it could easily result from the high levels of p100 that might overactive the developmental pathway.
Hoffman and his team thought the link represented a new opportunity for therapeutic intervention.
"Many of the developmental signals that cells use are sent outside the cell, so they should be easier to block with drugs than inflammation signals, which tend to be confined within cells," Hoffman explained. "It's more challenging to design drugs that will enter cells."
The study is published in the Jan. 28 issue of the journal Cell.
