One type of little worm seems to enjoy the fragrance of lung cancer cells. Scientists are now leveraging that allure to create a squirmy new cancer detection tool. The researchers believe that one day, this novel "worm-on-a-chip" technology would give a simple and painless technique to scan for early disease.
The cancer-seeking worm in question is Caenorhabditis elegant, a common roundworm. C. elegant is small enough to fit on a portable chip, measuring around one millimeter (0.04 inch) in length. Researchers used what seems to be a microscope slide to construct the chip system. There are three huge indents or wells on it. At one end, healthy human cells are inserted in a well. At the opposite end, lung cancer cells are deposited in a well. The worms live in the well in the center. They can then sniff the cells on either end. In tests, hungry worms gravitated toward the end of the worm that contained sick cells.
According to Paul Bun, "dogs can detect out persons with lung cancer." He was not involved in the research and is a cancer researcher at the University of Colorado in Aurora. "This study is another step in the same direction," he explains.
The Seoul-based researchers presented their innovative worm-on-a-chip at the American Chemical Society's spring meeting on March 20. It took place in San Diego, California.
Each chip contains 50 worms. "Approximately 70% of the worms migrate to the tumor," explains Shin SikChoi. He is a biotechnologist who worked at Mongol University in Seoul, South Korea, on the worm-on-a-chip technology. Chi believes the worms' ability to detect cancer may be improved with training.
Super sniffers wriggly
No one can read the thoughts of a C. elegant worm. So it's tough to say why these little creatures are drawn to cancer cells. However, Chi believes that fragrance is a fairly safe choice. "A rotten apple on the ground is the finest spot where we may find the worms in nature," he explains. Cancer cells also emit a lot of the same odor chemicals as a rotten apple.
According to Viola Folly, C. elegant has a very good sense of smell. She is a neuroscience student at Rome's Sapiens University. She explores C. elegant cancer-sniffing abilities, just as the Korean researchers. She's also using what she's learned to create a cancer detection sensor. Although these worms can't sight or hear, they can smell about as good as dogs, according to Folly. C. elegant contains almost the same number of chemical-sensing genes as mammals with a strong sense of smell, such as dogs or mice.
That's astounding, considering C. elegant has just 302 nerve cells in its entire body, compared to 86 billion in the human brain.
Scientists were able to determine the particular nerve cell that reacts to cancer cell aromas thanks to the worms' simplicity. Enrico Lanka, a physicist who studies neuroscience with Folly, accomplished this by genetically modifying some wigglers such that they lit up when a certain neuron was stimulated. He next exposed the worms to sick cells and looked for glow-in-the-dark cells under a microscope.
Lanka claims that C. elegant is transparent. "So if something inside [it] lights up, you can see it from the outside." And something did light up - a single, brilliant neuron on C. elegant one end. Lanka took a photograph.
But what are the fragrances that cause C. elegant nerve cells to light up like this? Chi believes his team has identified some substances to blame. VOC, or volatile organic compounds, are molecules released by cancer cells. A floral-scented VOC known as 2-ethyl-1-hexanol might tempt C. elegantChi team employed a particular strain of C. elegant to test this theory. These worms had been genetically modified to lack receptors for the odor molecules 2-ethyl-1-hexanol. Normal C. elegant prefer cancer cells to healthy cells, but genetically edited worms don't. This suggests that 2-ethyl-1-hexanol is important for attracting worms to damaged cells.
This discovery "makes perfect sense," adds Michael Phillips, "since we know that tumors emit VOC fingerprints." He was not a participant in the study. However, at Messina Research in Fort Lee, New Jersey, he is working on cancer screening tests. VOC in the breath can help predict breast cancer risk, according to Phillips' recent research. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment published that report in 201
In search of cance
In the existing worm-on-a-chip system, C. elegant capacity to detect malignant cells is a decent start. Chi now wants to determine if these worms can detect cancer without being physically exposed to sick cells. Perhaps the worms can detect cancer-causing VOC in saliva, blood, or urine. Doctors might use such a technique to screen for lung cancer without taking a patient's
According to Phillips' studies on cancer-related VOC in breath, this theory has merit. Folly research confirms this. Her team discovered that C. elegant preferred urine from breast cancer patients over urine from healthy persons last year. That study was published in Scientific Report
Noninvasive testing like these could give doctors an advantage in the fight against cancer. For example, many lung cancer patients are not detected until the disease has advanced and become difficult to cure. Lung cancer can be detected early with several screening methods, particularly CT scans. However, the X-rays from the scans cause new issues. "The more CT scans you have, the more radiation you get," Bun explains. Furthermore, radiation can cause cancer. This is why doctors will only perform these scans if they suspect illnes
A worm-on-a-chip spit or urine test would be a better option. "Wouldn't it be good if there was a screening test like this?" Bun explains. "Even if it's not as precise as a CT scan?" you might wonder. It could, at the absolute least, indicate who might benefit the most from those CT scan
Phillips concurs. In the United Kingdom, he utilizes his Breath X breath analyzer to screen for cancer. According to him, various cancer cells produce different combinations of VOC. Each design is unique, similar to a fingerprint. VOC are also released by various disorders. "We see radically different fingerprints for breast cancer compared to tuberculosis using exhaled breaths," Phillips adds. He claims that the VOC fingerprint changes with each ailmen
Breath X and the worm-on-a-chip gadget are not meant to be used to diagnose cancer. Phillips says, "I would never tell a patient she has breast cancer based on the findings of a breath test." He also suggests a worm-on-a-chip test. He argues that the value of this technology is that it provides a safe, low-cost technique to screen for those who are at high risk of disease. These instruments could aid in the early detection of cancer, when it can still be completely removed or properly treated.
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