Researchers at IRB Barcelona identify that the expression of ancestral fragments of viral DNA results in a strong inflammatory response and causes breast tissue dysfunction.

This viral DNA accumulation has also been observed in some types of cancer, such as triple-negative breast cancer, and it may play a key role in determining metastatic potential.

The work has been published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

The mechanism described by IRB Barcelona researchers played a key role in the evolution from unicellular organisms to more complex forms of life.

The understanding of these processes may have an impact on the treatment of diseases related to extracellular proteins, such as asthma and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease.

The results have been published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

Researchers at IRB Barcelona publish in the journal Nature the mechanism by which dietary palmitic acid (and not oleic or linoleic acid) favours tumour expansion.

Tumour cells temporarily exposed to a diet rich in palmitic acid develop a more aggressive profile that endures as a form of cellular “memory”.

This more aggressive profile drives the activation Schwann cells associated with the tumor and the secretion of an extracellular tissue which, when blocked, impedes the metastatic capacity of the tumour.