Drosophila, Fruit Flies May Help Us In Delaying Cancer Progression.

blood cancer occurs when there is an out-of-control response to a chronic inflammation

Wasps lay their eggs inside larvae of other insects. The growing wasp consumes the host alive and finally takes over the body.
But not all insect larvae sit still while this process takes place. For instance, in Drosophila, fruit flies, the larvae activate humoral immunity mechanism that encapsulate and choke off parasitic egg.
A research by a team lead by Dr.Shubha Govind, at the City Collage Of New York recognizes parallels between how this immune system fights the wasp egg and the way blood cancer develops.
“There are fundamental similarities in the processes, the response to wasp infection is similar to acute inflammation while the cancer is akin to chronic inflammation in mammals, where regulation of the response to an infection also goes out of control.” explains Dr. Govind. “There is strong evidence that the fundamental mechanism of regulation uncovered in flies also works in humans,” she notes. “Because of the molecular similarities between flies and mammals, it may be possible to use flies to test drugs for potential anti-inflammatory effects in human disease.”  While such drugs would not cure cancer, they could control inflammation and, perhaps, delay cancer progression.
The findings are published on Plos Pathogens.

PLoS Pathogens via City College Of New York