Melatonin, a
hormone produced in the human brain, appears to suppress the growth of breast
cancer tumors.
Researchers at Michigan State University
published this finding in the current issue of Genes and Cancer.
The brain manufactures melatonin only at night to regulate sleep
cycles. Epidemiologists and experimentalists have speculated that the lack of
melatonin, due in part to our sleep-deprived modern society, put women at
higher risk for breast cancer. The latest MSU study showed that melatonin
suppresses the growth of breast cancer stem cells, providing scientific proof
to support the growing body of anecdotal evidence on sleep deprivation.
The research team was led by Juliana Lopes, a visiting
researcher from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Before the team could test its theory, the
scientists had to grow tumors from stem cells, known as
"mammospheres," a method perfected in the laboratory of James Trosko
at MSU.
The growth of these mammospheres was enhanced with chemicals
known to fuel tumor growth, namely, the natural hormone estrogen, and
estrogen-like chemical Bisphenol A, or BPA, found in many types of plastic food
packages.
Melatonin treatment significantly decreased the number and size
of mammospheres when compared with the control group. Furthermore, when the
cells were stimulated by estrogen or BPA and treated with melatonin at the same
time, there was a greater reduction in the number and size of mammospheres.
"This work establishes the principal by which cancer stem
cell growth may be regulated by natural hormones, and provides an important new
technique to screen chemicals for cancer-promoting effects, as well as identify
potential new drugs for use in the clinic," Trosko said.
Source:
Michigan State University
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