A new study from Israeli scientists has found a mechanism linking heart disease to cancer development. Previous studies have shown that heart disease and cancer may be connected through shared risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes, and obesity. However, the newly released study from Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) and the Leviev Cardiothoracic and Vascular Center at the Sheba Medical Center has shed light on the potential connection between extracellular bubbles released after a heart attack and an increased risk of developing cancer.
The researchers estimate that the discovery may improve the protocols for treating heart disease so that clinicians also consider the increased risk of cancer. The study was funded by the Israel Cancer Association and the Israel Science Foundation.
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Extracellular bubbles, more accurately referred to as extracellular vesicles (EVs), are microscopic spheres produced by cells that play a vital role in cell-to-cell communication. They are essentially cellular messengers that shuttle various molecules, including proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, between cells.
EVs are present in various bodily fluids, including blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. Their research is a relatively new field, but they have been shown to be involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes.
The research was conducted under the leadership of Prof. Jonathan Leor from the Neufeld Cardiac Research Institute, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University and the Taman Institute at Sheba’s Leviev Center and his student Tal Caller, a medical and research student at Tel Aviv University’s School of Medicine. The research was published in the important medical journal Circulation.
Caller explains: “In 2013, the Israeli cardiologist Tal Hasin showed for the first time that there is a connection between heart failure and cancer. Patients with heart disease are at a higher risk of developing cancer, and since heart disease is already a leading cause of death–first place in the US and second place in Israel – that means that many people are at risk. Our research revealed that the diseased heart secrete a cancer-promoting factors, which we identified as small extracellular vesicles (sEVs). These are tiny particles wrapped in a simple membrane, which all cells secrete, but because of heart damage, these vesicles are released in greater quantities and contain factors related to inflammation, healing, growth, creation of new blood vessels, and changes in the immune system. These vesicles move through the circulatory system and eventually reach the tumor or the pre-cancerous tissue.”
Caller adds, “Following an injury in the heart muscle and deterioration to heart failure, sEVs containing growth factors and small nucleic acid molecules that promote cell division are released. These sEVs contribute to the healing of the injured cardiac tissue. However, released from the injured heart, those vesicles move within the body’s circulatory system, eventually targeting cancerous growths.”
As for the clinical implications of the study, Caller is careful in his words: “It may be necessary to adjust the existing treatments for the heart so that they also consider the risk of cancer. In addition, it is possible to find biomarkers among heart patients that will indicate an increased risk of cancer since not all patients are at an increased risk. This is basic research, and much work is still required to unravel the connection between the two.”
