Lab Tests Show Molecule Appears to Spur Cell Death in Inflammation
Background study
In 2004, Yinon Ben-Neriah and Eli Pikarsky of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, along with their colleagues, found that mice that were modified in order to develop hepatitis ended up developing precancerous lesions that did not develop into full malignancy state when the TNF cell signaling molecule was turned off. In another group, a neutralizing antibody blocked TNF activity and prevented it from attracting to liver cells, thus triggering cell death. In another study that very same year, Michael Karin and his research team at the University of California also found that mice modified in order to develop colon cancer ended up shutting down inflammatory activity.
Therefore, it could be seen that by prohibiting NF-KB activity, tumor development was able to be managed and prevented.
