A New Mechanism of Cancer Formation and Development
A joint scientific study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Biophysics of the Ministry of Science and Education and the National Oncology Center of the Ministry of Health has been published in the high-impact journal Journal of Molecular Structure (IF=4.7). The aim of the study was to demonstrate structural differences depending on the lipid composition of healthy and cancerous (lung cancer) cell membranes.
By applying Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, it was shown that the temperature-dependent changes in the spectral bands at 2848 cm⁻¹ and 2916 cm⁻¹, which are sensitive to the “trans” and “gauche” conformations of lipid CH₂ groups, occur via a cooperative transition (concerted changes in lipid conformations) in healthy cells, unlike in cancer cells. Cancer cell lipids, on the other hand, exhibit non-cooperative transitions (gradual, part-by-part changes in lipid conformations) and possess lower transition temperatures compared to those in healthy cells. The free energy values of trans–gauche structural transitions differ significantly between cancer cells and adjacent healthy cells.
The aggregation of lipid molecules depends on their conformation. The density of fatty acid chain packing within the cell can be monitored through the CH₂ group “scissoring” band. The parameters of this band reflect how densely the molecules are packed. In healthy cells, the 1465 cm⁻¹ band of these molecular vibrations splits into two distinct bands (at 1462 and 1472 cm⁻¹) due to strong intermolecular interactions, indicating a tightly packed and orderly (orthorhombic) arrangement of molecules. In cancer cells, however, this doublet signal is absent, which demonstrates a more disordered and loosely packed arrangement of lipid molecules.
Nevertheless, some morphologically classified healthy cells exhibit lipid structural transitions similar to those in cancer cells. Conversely, no cancer cell demonstrates lipid transitions characteristic of healthy cells.
Our results show that metabolic changes can occur prior to morphological alterations and may represent one of the initial events triggering malignant transformation. Although such findings have been theoretically discussed in the literature, they are presented experimentally for the first time in our research. This result is of particular diagnostic importance, as morphology-based diagnostics alone may not be sufficient for some patients. Therefore, in cancer diagnostics, there is a need to determine the metabolic profile at the cellular level alongside morphological analysis. At the same time, the results indicate that environmental factors affecting metabolic changes significantly influence the initiation and development of cancer.
