How cells combat chromosome imbalance
Most living cells have a defined number of chromosomes: Human cells, for example, have 23 pairs. As cells divide, they can make errors that lead to a gain or loss of chromosomes, which is usually very harmful. For the first time, MIT biologists have now identified a mechanism that the immune system uses to eliminate these genetically imbalanced cells from the body. Almost immediately after gaining or losing chromosomes, cells send out signals that recruit immune cells called natural killer cells, which destroy the abnormal cells. The findings raise the possibility of harnessing this system to kill cancer cells, which nearly always have too many or too few chromosomes. “If we can re-activate this immune recognition system, that would be a really good way of getting rid of cancer cells,” says Angelika Amon, the Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor in Cancer Research in MIT’s Department of Biology, a member of the Koch Institute...