IRIC - Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer

Published on November 21, 2017

The team of Professor Katherine Borden of IRIC, in collaboration with researchers from the Segal Cancer Centre of the Montreal Jewish General Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA, published a study in the scientific journal eLife describing how the eIF4E protein can alter the surface of cells to promote cancer development. This protein, overabundant in the cells of many cancers, promotes the production of a protective layer and protrusions rich in hyaluronic acid (HA), a complex sugar of the cellular microenvironment. Before this discovery HA was closely related to cancer because of its structural role in the tumor microenvironment, but this work provides the first example of an oncogene exploiting the production of HA to direct its carcinogenic potential on the tumor cells themselves. eIF4E works by stimulating the production of a series of enzymes involved in the synthesis of HA. The study also demonstrates that eIF4E inhibition by ribavirin or the use of the hyalunronidase enzyme, which digests HA, reduces the oncogenic potential of cells. These results suggest that a treatment using ribavirin in combination with hyaluronidase may be beneficial. Professor Borden and her colleagues plan to test this approach in the clinic.

To find out more about this work: https://elifesciences.org/articles/29830

Cited study
The eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E harnesses hyaluronan production to drive its malignant activity

Zahreddine HA, Culjkovic-Kraljacic B, Emond A, Pettersson F, Midura R, Lauer M, Del Rincon S,  Cali V and Assouline S, Miller WH, Hascall V and Borden K.

eLife, Nov 7, 2017