melanoma

Developing an Experimental Model System to Understand the Tumor Microenvironment of Melanoma Brain Metastases

Posted on by Michele Arduengo, PhD

Cancer’s greatest threat is its ability to spread to other tissues—a process known as metastasis. Melanoma, a form of skin cancer, exemplifies this devastating progression. Although treatable when caught early—with surgical removal resulting in over 99% survival at five years—once melanoma metastasizes, five-year survival rates plummet dramatically to around 27%. Even more concerning, melanoma exhibits a particularly high tendency to invade the central nervous system, causing melanoma brain metastases (MBMs) that are incurable and reduce median survival to just 13 months.

To understand metastasis, we need reliable and realistic experimental models. Traditional cell cultures on plastic dishes are limited, failing to replicate the intricate spatial organization and biochemical interactions within living tissues. Animal models are informative but expensive, ethically complex, and not always accurate for human diseases. Addressing this critical gap, Reed-McBain and colleagues (2025) introduced an innovative microphysiological system (MPS) designed to simulate the tumor microenvironment in the brain affected by metastatic melanoma.

Continue reading “Developing an Experimental Model System to Understand the Tumor Microenvironment of Melanoma Brain Metastases”

Two Epigenetic Targets Are More Effective Than One

Posted on by Sara Klink

Lysine-specific histone demethylase 1 (LSD1) via Wikimedia Commons

Epigenetics is a new and exciting territory to explore as we understand more about the role it plays in gene silencing and expression. Because epigenetic regulation of gene expression is caused by specific modification of histone proteins (e.g., methylation) that play a role in disease states like cancer, enzymes like histone deacetylases (HDACs) become viable drug targets. One drawback to inhibiting proteins that modify histones is even when selectively targeting HDACs, the effects can be far ranging with multiple HDAC-containing protein complexes found throughout the cell. These broad effects minimize the effectiveness of an inhibitor, caught between efficacy and toxicity. A recent article in Nature Communications explored how using a single compound to target two epigenetic enzymes was more effective than any individual inhibitor or combination of inhibitors. Continue reading “Two Epigenetic Targets Are More Effective Than One”

Investigating the Role of Hair Proteins in Fighting Cancer

Posted on by Sara Klink

Human Hair 40X Magnification.
Human Hair 40X Magnification. Taken at Strathclyde University Forensic Science Department by Edward Dowlman
Many scientists seek anticancer compounds derived from plants (e.g., black raspberry extract). What about something a bit closer to home: byproducts from humans? Markowicz et al. were interested in the effects that hair degradation products could have on cancer cells, specifically melanoma.

Hair from two donors, a gray-haired elderly man and a young brunette woman, were collected after a haircut and separately processed by activation in sodium hydroxide prior to digestion with pepsin, a protease that cleaves at the C-terminus of phenylalanine, leucine, tyrosine and tryptophan. The digested fragments were extracted, frozen and dried down. The remaining unsolubilized material was dried, ground and redigested with pepsin, yielding two samples of pepsin digests from each hair sample. The final pepsin digests were suspended in 70% ethanol. Continue reading “Investigating the Role of Hair Proteins in Fighting Cancer”