Targeting liver cancer cause

A TEAM at James Cook University is using new technology to cripple the gene found in a parasite that is suspected of causing cancer in tens of thousands of people each year.

The 10-year investigation, conducted in collaboration with teams in Thailand and the US, focused on a bile duct can- cer caused by eating undercooked freshwater fish that contain a parasitic worm known as the Thai liver fluke.

“It’s a disease regularly found in rural regions bordering the Mekong River in South-east Asia, including northeastern Thailand and Laos, where it’s traditional to prepare dishes from uncooked or undercooked fish,” senior research fellow Michael Smout, who is leading the project’s JCU component, said. Dr Smout said the worm lived in a person’s liver and caused cells to go into overdrive.

“The human body tries to isolate the invader and destroy it, but the worm is tough and able to avoid being destroyed by the immune system.”

Principle investigator Alex Loukas said millions of people in the region contracted liver fluke infection and thousands died each year as a result.

“Northeastern Thailand suffers the highest incidence of bile duct cancer in the world, with up to 20,000 people a year admitted for surgery,” Prof Loukas said.

Dr Smout said it was the first time the revolutionary CRISPR-CAS9 gene-editing tool had been used on parasitic flatworms.

“We found that the geneedited liver flukes had a markedly diminished ability to cause liver disease,” he said.

“Our results support the notion that the worm releases substances that stimulate growth of cells, and cause excessive inflammatory respons- es to the infection damage the liver.”

He said the next step was understanding how the worm interacted with the host and how it led to cancer.

“This information could provide insights and new ideas for treatment and disease control. We hope to develop a drug treatment or a vaccine to stop the worm and the cancer.” that also