Scientists from the Zoology department at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have conducted groundbreaking research on T Cell Lymphoma, a form of immune cell cancer. Under the direction of Dr Ajay Kumar, assistant professor of zoology, Vishal Kumar Gupta, a research scholar in the department, carried out the investigation.
Pradeep Kumar Jaiswara, Rajan Kumar Tiwari, and Shiv Govind Rawat are additional study team members. The study has for the first time shown how Lysophosphatidic Acid (LPA) contributes to the development of this particular type of cancer.
Experiments on mice with tumours were carried out over the duration of the study, which was conducted in two halves over a period of around four years. It was shown that LPA increased the survival of T lymphoma cells by inhibiting the most prevalent form of cell death, apoptosis, and inducing glycolysis (glucose metabolism – breaking down of glucose to derive energy). On the other hand, in mice with T cell lymphoma, the LPA receptor antagonist Ki16425 demonstrated great anti-tumour activity. By administering Ki16425 to T-cell lymphoma-bearing mice, the scientists also observed reactivation of suppressed immunity and improvement in the tumour-induced kidney and liver impairments.
The experimental results are encouraging because it has never been possible to observe in such detail the tumour-promoting potential of LPA or the therapeutic benefit of LPA receptors for T-cell lymphoma.
The research is important because it may open the door to the use of LPA as a biomarker for T-Cell Lymphoma and the creation of medicines that target the LPA receptors. The Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, provided funding for this research project. The innovative scientific results from this study were published in two parts in the prestigious international journal Apoptosis.
