Flies reveal immune cell response to tumour and tissue damage

Research with fruit flies has revealed more in common between simple cuts and scratches and the growth of tumours than might have been expected.

Scientists at Yale University's School of Medicine who were examining the activity of hemocytes, a type of immune cell, in response to genetically-induced tumour growth in fruit flies, have found a link between immune responses and cancer.

Though the idea that tumour growth triggers the same immune response as a cut or wound was once a highly controversial notion, there has been increasing evidence to support the idea that the same cellular mechanisms which heal a skinned knee might also have a role in preventing the growth of tumours and the new research reveals more details about the common links between tumour growth and tissue damage in flies.

Dr. Tian Xu and colleagues found that tumours caused circulating hemocytes to replicate and adhere to the tumour surface, thereby limiting tumour growth and they found when they compared this hemocyte response to cell activity in normal flies which were wounded and had tissue damage - hemocyte proliferation in these flies occurred just as in the tumour-producing fly.

The team also discovered by examining the molecular signals triggered in the immune response, that the tumour's physical disruption and damage of nearby tissues, triggered the hemocyte response.

The study also identifies key pathways in the fly's immune response to tumour growth and tissue disruption, which is similar in humans and the researchers say this shows that the fly can be used to study potential drug targets which could enhance the body's natural immune response against cancer.

The research is published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM).