Researchers shrink tumors in mice by manipulating the brain's reward system

Newswise – By artificially activating the brain's reward system, researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have dramatically reduced the size of cancerous tumors in mice. The results were recently published in Nature Communications. The research was conducted by doctoral students Tamar Ben-Shaanan and Maya Schiller, under the supervision of Associate Professor Asya Rolls from the Technion Rappaport School of Medicine and Assistant Professor Fahed Hakim, Medical Director of the Scottish EMMS Hospital in Nazareth. 19659002] The natural ability of the immune system to destroy cancer cells has become increasingly evident in recent years. This awareness has led to the growth of immunotherapy – an innovative medical approach based on the understanding that the immune system is able to fight cancer effectively if given the tools. In 2013, the editors of the journal Science rated breakthrough immunotherapy the most important of the year. "However," says Professor Rolls, "the involvement of immune cells in cancer processes is a double-edged sword because some components of these cells are also found to support tumor growth.They do this by blocking the immune response and creating a beneficial environment for growth. "

Prof. Rolls is studying the effect of the brain on the immune system for several years. In a study that she and her colleagues published in 2016 in Nature Medicine, she showed how the immune system can be stimulated by manipulating the brain's reward system – which works in positive emotional states and anticipates the positive . "By artificially activating the area, we can affect the nervous system and, in turn, the immune system," she said. In the same article, Professor Rolls and his colleagues showed that the artificial intervention sends messages to the sympathetic nervous system, which stimulates the immune system. The immune system intervened also created a stronger immune memory against the bacteria to which he had been exposed, which allows him to work more efficiently the next time he is exposed to the same bacteria.

Most cells in the immune system come from bone marrow – the spongy tissue found in bones. The brain communicates directly with the bone marrow and can affect its attributes. The main breakthrough in this study is the success of researchers in harnessing the potential of the brain to stimulate the immune system in the fight against cancer.

"The relationship between the emotional state and the cancer of a person has been demonstrated in the past: negative feelings such as stress and depression and without a physiological map of the mechanism. action in the brain, "said Professor Rolls. Several researchers, including Professor David Spiegel of the Stanford University School of Medicine, have shown that an improvement in the emotional state of the patient could affect the evolution of the disease, but the way it happened was not clear. We now present a physiological model that can explain at least part of this effect. "

" Understanding the influence of the brain on the immune system and its ability to fight cancer will allow us to use this mechanism in medical treatments "Hakim." Different people react differently, and we will not be able to take advantage of this huge healing potential only if we fully understand the mechanisms. "

The authors caution that the study is preclinical, and note that they have been tested only two models of cancer (melanoma and lung cancer) and only two aspects of development – the volume and weight of the tumor.However, they say that this breakthrough will allow doctors to realize what physiological role the mental state of patients can play in the development of By artificially activating different parts of the brain, it may be possible in the future to encourage the immune system to block the brain more effectively. e development of cancerous tumors.

About the Researchers

Asya Rolls, Associate Professor, earned her BA and MA at After completing her Ph.D. at the Weizmann Institute of Science and following a Ph.D. in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Ottawa. Stanford University in California, she joined the Technion Rappaport School of Medicine in 2012 as a faculty member. She received the Adelis Brain Research Award, the Krill Award, a grant from the European Research Council, was elected to the Israeli Academy of Sciences and the FENS-kavli Excellence Network and recognized as the 39, one of 40 international researchers by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. (HHMI). She is also a member of the Technion Integrated Cancer Center (TICC).

Clinical Professor Fahed Hakim was recently appointed Medical Director of the Scottish EMSS Hospital Nazareth and continues to serve as Senior Medical Officer at the Pulmonary Pulmonary Institute at Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa. Professor Hakim is an expert in pediatrics, pediatric pneumology and sleep disorders. He is an active member of the respective international badociations for the study of lung disease, sleep and brain research. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Sleep Research at the University of Chicago Illinois in 2013, he joined the Technion's Rappaport Faculty of Medicine as a faculty member.

Click here for the photos

1. Assoc. Teacher. Asya Rolls

2. Asst. Teacher. Fahed Hakim

3. Ph.D. students Tamar Ben-Shaanan (left) and Maya Schiller

4. Dr. Hilla Azulay-Debby

5. Group photo (L-R): Dr. Azulay-Debby, Prof. Rolls, Prof. Hakim and Maya Schiller

6. Image b: Image of the reward system (VTA). Experimental mice were injected with a special compound called DREADD, which allows researchers to manipulate the brain and activate the reward system. Red is the expression DREADD limited to the reward system; green is the dopaminergic neurons activated by manipulation of the reward system.

7. Image d: The top row is that of tumors that developed in the control group of mice; the lower row consists of tumors from mice that have undergone brain manipulation. (Photo Credit: Rami Shlush, Technion Spokesperson's Office)

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