Swedish scientists in the laboratory have shown that a protein
mother's milk, they produce lactose
changes when contacted with gastric acid Baby and causes the suicide of tumor cells
JEROME BURN
Happiness may well be a component of breast milk
called Hamlet. A few years ago, Swedish researchers made a surprising discovery
, however, has gone largely unnoticed:
maternal milk is very effective to kill cancer cells in a test tube.
All types of tumor cells, some of which resisted the action of a range of chemical agents
, committed suicide in front of this substance.
In June last year, the lab announced that it had identified the protein
responsible for this phenomenon, which was named as Hamlet (
acronym in English of the human alpha-lactalbumin converted into
lethal to tumor cells). But drinking breast milk may help adults with cancer
? Tests
"I have not the faintest idea," says Catharina Svanborg, professor of immunology
Institute of Laboratory Medicine, a department of Lund University in Sweden
. "We do not have any information about it and I do not
help create false expectations. Only, we have begun to understand
how it works in the body of a baby. What we do know is
Hamlet is very effective in a test tube and in animals, we have obtained promising results
. " The future hope is that Hamlet can lay the foundation for
a new anticancer drug with fewer side effects than current
.
seven years ago that started this saga, when a lab assistant Svanborg
studying the known ability of breast milk to fight germs
. He realized that cancer cells used in the experiment
dying. Svanborg wondered whether this could explain why the risk
lymphoma, a type of childhood cancer is nine times higher in the case
infants to bottle. The next surprise was that the killer protein
responsible for this cell suicide (apoptosis) was
alpha-lactalbumin, one of the most common components of human milk.
Any textbook explains that the main function of alpha-lac is the
production of lactose, milk sugar. No mention at all missions
of "search and destroy." Transformed alpha-lac, "not only assigned as
target cancer cells," says Svanborg, "but to all types of immature cells
or accelerated growth, leaving in peace
cells mature and stable." This alpha-lac transformed the
has been dubbed as Hamlet by the research team.
The conventional description of alpha-lac indicates
created by the assembly of long chains of amino acids, which then fold into a complex
. This form is crucial, as the work that each protein must
play. Not only prions, also implicated in the disease of BSE
, change shape, with devastating results for the brain, but also
does alfalac, although in this case, resulting
completely benign. Gastric acid
The magic potion responsible for this change is the acid stomach. Alpha-lac normal
estómagodel enters the infant and leave it turned into Hamlet. To
complete this transformation, it requires otrofactor also present in breast milk
but when Svanborg remains secret.
The Hamlet that the research team intends to use for the next battery of tests
deinsectos be genetically modified. "Breast milk is a source
practice for the amount required deHamlet" says
Christopher Higgins, director of ladivisión MRC Clinical Sciences College delImperial
in Hammersmith (London). One project is to unravel
Swedish cómoHamlet selected cells destroyed. And will begin testing
mice.
Via: http://www.elmundo.es
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