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Article: Natural-born killers: some cancer cells not only dodge immune cells, they kill them.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- February 8, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Some cancer cells not only dodge immune cells, they kill them.
At least once each day, a person's immune system snuffs out a cell that has taken a turn down the path leading to cancer. For decades, physicians assumed that the immune system and such cells play a game of cat and mouse, in which the renegade cells hide from pursuing immune cells, or lymphocytes, and stealthily breed to form tumors.
Recent research, however, reveals an unexpected twist to the game: Wielding proteins that trigger death in immune cells, some cancer cells turn on their pursuers and destroy them.
"Tumors can kill lymphocytes," says Peter R. Galle of the University of Heidelberg ...