Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 22, 2025
07:03
Isolation and Functional Assessment of Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells from Cell and Tissue Samples
Published on: October 2, 2020
4.7K
Effect of HIT Components on the Development of Breast Cancer Cells
Li-Yu Chen1,2, Gurunath Apte1,3, Annerose Lindenbauer1
1Institute for Bioprocessing and Analytical Measurement Techniques, 37308 Heiligenstadt, Germany.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 27, 2021
Summary
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) components, including HIT antibodies and platelets, significantly impact breast cancer cell mechanics and proliferation. HIT antibodies inhibit cancer cell growth alone but promote it in the presence of platelets.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Cancer metastasis involves circulating tumor cells interacting with platelets.
- Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious complication of heparin anticoagulation, involving heparin, platelet factor 4 (PF4), and antibodies.
- The impact of HIT components on cancer cell behavior is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of HIT components on the mechanical properties of breast cancer cells.
- To quantify changes in cancer cell spreading and proliferation rates when exposed to HIT-related factors.
Main Methods:
- Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to measure the elasticity of breast cancer cells.
- Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) quantified cancer cell spreading.
- Cell proliferation rates were determined under various conditions.
Main Results:
- HIT components demonstrated distinct effects on cancer cell elasticity and spreading over time.
- HIT antibodies alone inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation.
- In the presence of platelets, HIT antibodies promoted cancer cell proliferation.
Conclusions:
- HIT complexes appear to influence the development and progression of breast cancer.
- Understanding these interactions is crucial for managing cancer patients with HIT.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:53Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
6.0K
Cancer cells accumulate genetic changes at an abnormally rapid rate due to the defects in the DNA repair mechanisms. From an evolutionary perspective, such genetic instability is advantageous for cancer development. Mutant cell lines accumulate a series of beneficial mutations that contribute to their progression into cancer.
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
6.0K
02:57Targeted Cancer Therapies
8.0K
The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
8.0K
02:07Tumor Progression
6.7K
Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
6.7K
02:21Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
13.3K
Cancer arises from mutations in the critical genes that allow healthy cells to escape cell cycle regulation and acquire the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Though originating from a single mutation event in one of the originator cells, cancer progresses when the mutant cell lines continue to gain more and more mutations, and finally, become malignant. For example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) develops initially as a non-lethal increase in white blood cells, which progressively...
13.3K
02:38Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
7.2K
Mitogens and their receptors play a crucial role in controlling the progression of the cell cycle. However, the loss of mitogenic control over cell division leads to tumor formation. Therefore, mitogens and mitogen receptors play an important role in cancer research. For instance, the epidermal growth factor (EGF) - a type of mitogen and its transmembrane receptor (EGFR), decides the fate of the cell's proliferation. When EGF binds to EGFR, a member of the ErbB family of tyrosine kinase...
7.2K