At 91传媒 Kazakh National University, the grand opening of the Kazakhstan–American Center for the Study of Cytomatrix took place. At the center, scientists will engage in a detailed study of the structure of the cytomatrix and complex cellular processes, which will make a significant contribution to the development of biomedicine. The implementation of joint innovative projects aimed at studying the biology of cellular changes in tumor cells is planned. This will contribute to the training of highly qualified scientific personnel. As part of the event, the General Director of Peri-Nuc Labs LLP, Research Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Tattym Shaiken delivered a leadership lecture on the topic “The Nature of Cancer and Ways to Combat It.” The lecture was held with the support of the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology and brought together faculty members, master’s and doctoral students, and guests from the scientific community. The well-known scientist in the field of cell biology and cancer research was introduced to the audience by Member of the Board – Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation Activity Alina Galeeva, who emphasized the main achievements of Professor Tattym Shaiken — a graduate of the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology of KazNU (1979). Today, he is one of the leading scientists in the world in the field of cell biology. The scientist is the founder and General Director of Peri-Nuc Labs LLP, a company that is an official resident of the Innovation Park of the University of Houston, and also a Research Professor at Baylor College of Medicine.
The lecture of the world-renowned scientist Tattym Shaiken was devoted to the nature of cancer and modern approaches to its treatment. He began his speech by acknowledging the complexity of understanding the nature of cancer.
- Dear colleagues, I am very pleased to be present in this hall and to deliver this lecture on the topic ‘The Nature of Cancer and Ways to Combat Cancer.’ The main question is: what is cancer? Two years ago, an interview was published with an Israeli professor, the best doctor according to Forbes, Polina Stepensky. There she answered the blogger’s question ‘What is cancer?’ Cancer is a pathological condition of the body in which a failure in its functioning occurs. We still cannot precisely determine what exactly causes cancer, therefore the treatment of this disease can rather be called an art than a science. A logical question arises: how is it that, despite all the achievements of science and technology, we still cannot find an effective treatment for this disease? In the history of medicine, many theories and approaches to cancer treatment have been proposed. However, despite all efforts, there is still no universal method that could completely eliminate this disease. Science, powerful technologies, and artificial intelligence cannot cope with this problem, although there are many theories and methods, such as the theory of somatic mutations, retroviruses, oncogenes, and others.”
In the history of medicine, there have been various concepts and theories concerning the treatment of oncological diseases. One of the most well-known and thoroughly developed theories was the hypothesis of somatic cell mutation, published as early as 1914. Subsequently, in the 1920s, a hypothesis was proposed that retroviruses could act as carriers of oncogenic agents in birds, although this version did not receive wide support in the scientific community. Nevertheless, in the 1960s, for research in the field of retroviruses and their connection with oncogenesis, a Nobel Prize was awarded.
Then the direction of retroviruses appeared, which capture small segments of genes and transfer them. At present, about thirty retroviruses have been identified that are potentially capable of causing the development of cancer. How is this determined? A cell into which a virus is introduced changes its morphology and turns into a cancer cell. This theory was called the theory of oncogenes. Currently, the number of genes potentially capable of causing cancer is 867. Taking into account epidemiological changes, this number increases to 1,500. Every year this indicator continues to grow. It is noteworthy that these mutations, known as oncogenes, do not always lead to the development of malignant neoplasms.
Despite the significant number of mutations, the occurrence of cancer is not inevitable. In some cases, cancer may develop without preceding mutations, which is classified as an epidemiological change. At present, many scientific articles have been published that question the key role of genetic factors in the etiology of cancer. What lies behind this phenomenon? In fact, molecular genetics has reached such a level of development that genetic studies of cancer have become an integral part of modern science. Many aspects of physicochemical characteristics, diagnostics, and staging of oncological diseases are based on data from molecular genetic studies.
The division of cancer cells can occur with varying intensity: from rapid, characteristic of most malignant neoplasms, to slow, in which patients may not suspect the presence of an oncological disease and ultimately die from natural causes. One of the morphological signs of malignant transformation of cells is a change in their shape and size, which allows this criterion to be used for diagnosis. Cancer cells are also characterized by increased production of lactic acid, the mechanism of which is not fully understood. However, it is known that metabolic processes in cancer cells differ from normal ones: they consume glucose 30 times more intensively and release lactic acid 43 times more actively than healthy cells.
Issues related to oncological diseases are the subject of active scientific discussions. Approximately 20,000 scientific articles are published annually on this topic. The main focus of researchers is on biosynthesis mechanisms; however, recently it has been found that nucleolar hypertrophy also plays a significant role in cancer development. The nucleolus is an intracellular organelle where ribosomal RNA synthesis and ribosome assembly occur. In cancer cells, an increase in the number and size of nucleoli is observed, which leads to enhanced biosynthetic activity and, consequently, increased protein synthesis. This is one of the characteristic features of cancer cells. Metastasis — the process of the spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor site to other organs and tissues — is also an important aspect of oncological diseases.
Genes and the genome are not determinants of reality. Like a virus that does not cause harm until it enters a cell and begins the infection process, genetic material does not 锌褉芯褟胁谢褟械褌 褋胁芯褞 邪泻褌懈胁薪芯褋褌褜 写芯 邪泻褌懈胁邪褑懈懈 褋芯芯褌胁械褌褋褌胁褍褞褖懈褏 斜懈芯谢芯谐懈褔械褋泻懈褏 屑械褏邪薪懈蟹屑芯胁. All chemical reactions occur in the cytoplasm of the cell. It is the cytoplasm that determines the morphological structure and functional characteristics of the organism, including cellular elements. Due to the cytoplasm, cells acquire different forms, such as nerve, muscle, and fat cells. The physical parameters of the cell, including structure, volume, size, and density, are the result of cytoplasmic processes. Disruption of the morphological integrity and functionality of the cytoplasm may lead to the development of oncological diseases.
In the course of my scientific activity, I introduced the term “cytomatrix” into scientific use. This term was developed during the study of the genome of a certain ethnic group, which began after my move to the United States of America. The results of this research were published in the form of a scientific article and protected by patents. However, despite the achievements obtained, it became clear that studying the genome does not lead to successful treatment of cancer at the cellular level. In this regard, I moved on to cooperation with the outstanding scientist Dr. Lake, who was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize for his research in the field of fat synthesis. Within the framework of our cooperation, I was engaged in isolating proteins involved in the process of fat synthesis. This stage of work lasted seven years and led to significant results. After that, I devoted another seven years to studying the protein complex, as a result of which a method for obtaining the perinucleus, formed outside the cell nucleus, was developed. The results of this research were published in a scientific article, which 锌芯写褉芯斜薪芯 describes the process of separating the cell into the nucleus, the perinuclear fraction containing the perinucleus, and the cytosol.
It should be noted that this work was of a technical and methodological nature and at the initial stage did not arouse much interest for me. However, thanks to careful elaboration and the use of modern research methods, we were able to achieve significant success. In particular, we used two cancer cell lines, as well as immortalized cells and primary fibroblasts for experiments. In all cases, the expected results were obtained. The following ten years I devoted to studying the cytosol — the liquid part of the cell — and the nature of the perinucleus. These studies allowed us to significantly expand our knowledge in the field of cell biology and biochemistry.
During the lecture, Professor Tattym Shaiken presented modern methods of diagnosis and therapy of oncological diseases based on the study of the mechanisms of survival of cancer cells and the peculiarities of protein synthesis in tumors. Over the past ten years, the scientist has developed innovative methods of cell fractionation and the concept of the cytomatrix, which separates the cytoplasm and cytosol. These studies contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of cancer and the energy demands of cellular mechanics. Professor Shaiken proposed technologies for isolating malignant cells from frozen biopsies, as well as methods for high-throughput screening of antitumor drugs related to the study of the cytomatrix. These developments have the potential to significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases.
After the lecture, a discussion took place, during which the audience asked a number of questions, to which Professor Shaiken provided detailed and comprehensive answers. The participants of the event highly appreciated the lecture of the speaker, emphasizing its significance for the scientific and educational community.
Kairzhan TUREZHANOV
Farabi
