UTSW Scientists Uncover How Tumors Hijack Antioxidants to Resist Treatment
Lingjie Sang, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow; Javier Garcia-Bermudez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern & Pediatrics; Dylan Calhoon, B.S., graduate student researcher (left to right) Researchers at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern have discovered that cancer cells use an alternative pathway—via sugar-coated molecules called sulfated GAGs—to absorb lipoproteins from the blood, bypassing traditional receptors. These lipoproteins carry α-tocopherol (vitamin E), which helps cancer cells survive stress and resist ferroptosis, a type of cell death. Blocking GAG production reduced vitamin E levels, slowed tumor growth, and made cancer cells more vulnerable to treatment. The findings, published in Nature, offer a potential new strategy to strip tumors of their antioxidant defenses and enhance cancer therapy.
UTSW Scientists Uncover How Tumors Hijack Antioxidants to Resist Treatment
