[HN Gopher] CRISPR used to 'reprogram' cancer cells into healthy...
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       CRISPR used to 'reprogram' cancer cells into healthy muscle in the
       lab
        
       Author : rbanffy
       Score  : 166 points
       Date   : 2023-09-09 12:20 UTC (10 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.livescience.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.livescience.com)
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | darkclouds wrote:
       | MSTN codes for myostatin, a myokine that is produced and released
       | by myocytes and acts on muscle cells to inhibit muscle growth,
       | myostatin gene defects (missing genes/myostatin knockout) are
       | seen in whippets and Belgium blue cattle.
       | 
       | PAX3-FOXO1 drives miR-486-5p which induces skeletal muscle
       | hypertrophy in myostatin knockout mice and represses miR-221
       | which contributes to rhabdomyosarcoma (soft tissue cancer), a
       | type of rhabdomyolysis (muscle loss).
       | 
       | Personally I prefer the effect of high doses of manganese
       | (chloride) on insulin and the stimulating effect insulin has on
       | the immune system.
        
         | GenerWork wrote:
         | >Personally I prefer the effect of high doses of manganese
         | (chloride) on insulin and the stimulating effect insulin has on
         | the immune system.
         | 
         | Could you go into this in a little more detail? Are you saying
         | that high doses of manganese will make it easier to build
         | muscle?
        
           | darkclouds wrote:
           | No I'm saying manganese helps regulates insulin which in turn
           | helps modulate parts of the immune system. [1] It helps to
           | smooth the blood sugar spike.
           | 
           | Chromium reduces insulin sensitivity which is helpful for
           | cells especially muscle which in turn increases stamina.
           | There are plenty of studies which call into question the
           | RDA's for supplements and there are misleading studies like
           | [3].
           | 
           | For example, [2] (Zinc) deficiency during pregnancy causes
           | irreversible effects on the newborn such as growth
           | impairment, spontaneous abortion, congenital malformations
           | and poor birth outcomes.
           | 
           | The same probably exists for other supplements and likewise
           | over exposure will also introduce problems like nickel over
           | exposure can cause fibrotic lung in animal experiments which
           | could explain why some people are born with cystic fibrosis.
           | 
           | In this example [3], the subjects are only consuming
           | 200micrograms of chromium. I'm not surprised they didnt see
           | any effect, the RDA is 400ug, but some body builders have
           | been known to take upto 2.4g aka 2,400mg aka 2,400,000ug and
           | have seen effects (cant find the study now), but the weight
           | training muddies the water so to speak. And the chromium
           | intake assumes there is enough manganese in the diet to help
           | produce enough insulin and thus smooth the blood sugar levels
           | in the first place.
           | 
           | Zinc plays a role at stabilising cell membranes, it can help
           | reduce the need for a vit E intake which also helps protect
           | cell membranes and is also heavily concentrated in organs
           | like the pancreas.
           | 
           | And whilst non digestive exposure to metals like zinc and
           | manganese can cause problems, the digestive system is very
           | capable at removing excess intakes via the bile acids,
           | helping to reduce any risks.
           | 
           | Zinc, manganese and chromium will all have an effect on the
           | immune system, but as manganese is most commonly associated
           | with insulin production, I only mentioned the manganese.
           | 
           | This study [4] shows that chromium alters the immune response
           | by immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive processes, by
           | altering the insulin resistance of cells.
           | 
           | We are very complex chemical reactions, so trying to get the
           | right intake seems to be a logical first step and with todays
           | technology, and the complete absence of medical experts
           | asking about diet in the first place, how can they even do
           | their job properly for long term illnesses?
           | 
           | So in this reprogramming of cancer cells, yes its a another
           | scientific achievement but is this another achievement once
           | the horse has bolted and should we actually be looking more
           | at the quality and nutrition of our food and environment in
           | order to avoid reactionary medicine?
           | 
           | [1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322946#:~:text=
           | %E2...
           | 
           | [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9262205/
           | 
           | [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9861607/
           | 
           | [4] https://academic.oup.com/femspd/article/34/1/1/498748
        
       | jackothy wrote:
       | I'm imagining a future where bodybuilders purposely give
       | themselves aggressive cancer so that they can later "reprogram"
       | it into additional muscle.
        
         | fnordpiglet wrote:
         | Randomly disturbed muscle masses on like your liver and
         | wrapping your kidneys doesn't seem like it'll win many
         | competitions
        
           | baz00 wrote:
           | Leg day, Arm day, Liver day, Kidney day.
        
             | FeteCommuniste wrote:
             | Liver King will now have muscles on his liver.
        
           | garba_dlm wrote:
           | future problems for future competitions.
           | 
           | see also: crimes of the future movies
        
           | 3seashells wrote:
           | It will result in funny twitches once they get the signals
           | from vagus and Co. Chest burster cramps after alcohol.
        
         | jayd16 wrote:
         | First you cultivate benign mass, then you harvest that mass.
        
         | dahfizz wrote:
         | Seems like way more hassle than just taking steroids
        
           | cvccvroomvroom wrote:
           | Juicing = shrinking nuts & roid rage.
           | 
           | If a biological male needs more T, clomiphene is the way to
           | go.
        
             | voldacar wrote:
             | Doesn't it cause eye damage if taken for a long period?
        
         | cvccvroomvroom wrote:
         | What's curious is that viral oncology vectors can destroy
         | cancer cells so aggressively that it's performed in a hospital
         | because it's potentially lethal.
        
           | hanniabu wrote:
           | Is that because the die off causes mast cell activation?
        
           | beezlewax wrote:
           | I mean so is cancer
        
         | nonrepeating wrote:
         | "It's not a tumor!" - Kindergarten Cop.
        
         | mometsi wrote:
         | I'm imagining a future where this cancer cell reprogramming
         | technology can be used to turn people into dinosaurs.
        
       | ildon wrote:
       | Reminds me of I am Legend
        
       | unixhero wrote:
       | Ah CRISPR again
        
         | jdjdjdjdjduuuu wrote:
         | CRISPR IS the greatest invention since the internet
        
       | bobmaxup wrote:
       | https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2303859120
        
         | Zaskoda wrote:
         | I think this was meant for another post. You're on the CRISPR
         | post.
        
           | ryanschaefer wrote:
           | This is the paper the article is based on
        
       | biogene wrote:
       | >One hurdle that will need to be overcome is that NF-Y also
       | regulates important processes in healthy cells, such as
       | metabolism and the cell cycle, the series of steps that cells go
       | through as they grow and divide. However, Vakoc and team
       | hypothesize that because RMS cells are "highly sensitive" to
       | changes in PAX3-FOXO1 expression, there could be a "window of
       | opportunity" in which a drug inhibits NF-Y long enough for RMS
       | cells to differentiate but not so long that healthy tissues get
       | damaged.
       | 
       | Author buried the most important "but.." in the last paragraph.
       | Lets keep "sciencing", but this is just a catchy headline.
        
         | lumost wrote:
         | I'd be curious if one could use CRISPR to reprogram cancer
         | cells to the point that the immune system starts killing them
         | again. Or did this work not have any targeting?
        
       | moffkalast wrote:
       | Tangentially relevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/1217/
        
       | nickdothutton wrote:
       | Probably of interest to readers, a 2011 talk from Danny Hillis
       | that this article reminded me of.
       | 
       | "Danny Hillis makes a case for the next frontier of cancer
       | research: proteomics, the study of proteins in the body. As
       | Hillis explains it, genomics shows us a list of the ingredients
       | of the body -- while proteomics shows us what those ingredients
       | produce. Understanding what's going on in your body at the
       | protein level may lead to a new understanding of how cancer
       | happens."
       | 
       | https://youtu.be/scITIoJvMJ0?si=boMyciGMFf6X6AQH
        
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       (page generated 2023-09-09 23:01 UTC)