What looks like colorful confetti is actually a survival mechanism with a potentially fatal effect. The microscope image shows cancer cells that react to extreme mechanical pressure – for example as it prevails in the dense tissue of the body. The purple mitochondria, the “power plants” of the cell, flock to the cell nucleus (light blue) and deliver an energy push in the form of the body’s own energy source ATP.
As a Spanish research team has now found out, this energy boost helps the cancer cells to quickly repair DNA damage caused by pressure-such as strand breaks or “knots” in the genome. Without him, the cells completely stopped division in the experiment, while cells could fix the damage within a few hours with sufficient energy. In this way, the additional energy supply enables the cancer cells to overcome the mechanical challenges in the body – for example, squeezing through tight tissues or blood vessels – and spreading further.
Particularly relevant: Even in real breast tumors, the striking energy -supplying structures could be demonstrated – especially on the outer outskirts, where the tumor further penetrates into the surrounding tissue. The study not only provides new insights into cell biology, but also a possible starting point in order to stop the spread of cancer more specifically in the future. Because if it were to block the structure of the mitochondria rings, the cancer cells would lose a decisive advantage.
