Salt Lake City: A new study has found that virus-like proteins released by certain cancerous tumors can damage brain cells by suppressing the immune system.
Memory loss, behavioral changes, loss of communication skills and even seizures are among the rapidly progressive symptoms of a condition called anti-M2 paraneoplastic neurological syndrome.
In a research published in the journal Cell, experts said that this rare neurological disease affects less than one person in 10,000 cancer patients. An immediate immune reaction against the system is always involved, causing rapid damage to the system.
According to scientists, most patients may experience these neurological symptoms before they are diagnosed with cancer. These symptoms occur when the immune system suddenly targets specific proteins in the brain (including PNMA2).
(Photo: University of Utah)
When the researchers tried to examine the protein’s template using advanced microscopic techniques, they found that multiple PNMA2s can quickly form 12-sided complexes similar to the outer shell of some viruses.
Since the primary function of the immune system is to attack viruses, the virus-like template of PNMA2 makes it an easy target.
According to the researchers, the results of the study may help discover a way to block antibodies in the brains of cancer patients experiencing neurological symptoms.
(function(d, s, id){
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3&appId=770767426360150”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.7”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));