A research team from the University of Cambridge has discovered that “freezing” hyaluronic acid—a key molecule in the brain—can effectively stop brain cancer cells from spreading. This breakthrough holds promise for opening new avenues in brain cancer treatment, with the findings published in the latest issue of Royal Society Open Science.
Hyaluronic acid is a sugar-like polymer that forms much of the supportive structure in the brain. The team found that cancer cells leverage the flexibility of this molecule to attach to receptors on the surface of other cancer cells, thereby triggering their spread. By “freezing” hyaluronic acid in place and restricting its flexibility, cancer cells can be stopped from moving and invading surrounding tissues, essentially “reprogrammed” to halt their invasive behavior.
Treating brain cancer has long posed significant challenges. Even after surgical removal of tumors, residual cancer cells may regrow within months. Existing drugs struggle to cross the blood-brain barrier, and radiotherapy can only delay—rather than prevent—recurrence. What makes the new research innovative is that it does not directly attack tumor cells; instead, it alters the extracellular matrix surrounding them to curb spread through environmental regulation.
Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the team observed that hyaluronic acid molecules twist into a specific shape and bind tightly to CD44 receptors on cancer cell surfaces, driving their spread. Once the hyaluronic acid molecules are cross-linked and “frozen,” the spread signal is shut down. This mechanism remains effective even at low concentrations of hyaluronic acid, indicating that cancer cells are not physically trapped but rather induced into a dormant state.
The discovery also explains why glioblastomas—an aggressive form of brain cancer—often recur at the surgical site: post-operative swelling can dilute hyaluronic acid, increasing its flexibility and inadvertently promoting cancer cell invasion. “Freezing” the molecule, however, could effectively prevent such recurrence. The team now aims to conduct further animal experiments and ultimately advance the research to clinical trials.
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