\The heart is the only human organ that is almost completely protected from cancer, a mystery that has long puzzled the scientific community. The rate of primary heart tumours in the population is no more than about 0.02%, and most of them are benign, at up to 90%.
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Historically, this was attributed to heart muscle cells stopping dividing shortly after birth, which reduces the chances of the genetic mutations that cause cancer, compared with fast-renewing tissues such as the lining of the intestine.
However, a recent study by scientists at the Italian University of Trieste has revealed a new biological and mechanical dimension that explains this natural immunity, and opens the door to promising treatments for various malignant tumours.
The research showed that the enormous mechanical force generated by the heart contracting and expanding, which repeats around 100,000 times a day, prevents cancer cells from settling and growing.
In laboratory experiments, genetically modified mice were injected with human cancer cells. It was found that when the rate at which blood was pumped was lowered to low levels, the malignant cells began to multiply, while resuming a normal heartbeat completely eliminated them.
The findings, published in the journal Science, went beyond the direct physical effect of the pulse. They showed that mechanical pressure stimulates the release of a protein called "Nesprin-2", which carries molecular signals directly to the nucleus of the cancer cell, forcing it to stop multiplying and dividing because its surroundings are unsuitable.
The research team is now studying whether wearable medical devices can be developed using "mechanotherapy", to apply targeted pressures that mimic the heart's movement to tumours such as breast and skin cancer, with the aim of starving malignant cells and stopping them from spreading.
In parallel, other research led by the Irish University of Galway suggests that applying direct external pressure may carry the risk of stimulating the spread of cells in some tissues, and describes it as a "double-edged sword".
Based on this, the researchers believe the safer path lies in developing targeted drugs that can chemically activate the Nesprin-2 protein, to halt cell division and mimic the heart's protective shield in the other organs of the human body.
Source: Al-Ghad.
