Ecology of cancer
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What is the stage-based approach to identifying an ‘invasive species?
There are different stages to invasion 1. Transport Are there new indivs getting there, 2. Establishment , is fundamental niche there in the habitat for new species to survive 3. (not in chart)Species species interactions 4. Spread,Does the new species spread, 5. Do we percieve it as negatively impacting us, this is a human biased label
Why do we see invasive species in islands a lot
hen the new species comes in the other animals aren’t ready tend to see inv species in places with unused niches
Why is a stage-based approach effective for identifying potential invasive species? How does this relate to our definition of ‘sustainability
some pops succeed in new env and become invasive, other do not LIfe history or env may influence whether species is invasive or not, easier and more informative easy to wether interactions are pos or neg at each stage
What are the 3 key things needed for invasion of cancer to be success and what does it entail
right cell - has cancer hallmarks right place- place can support lots of cell growth and growth factors present right time - age (somatic cells are not at prime), prolonged availability of nutrients cancer can occupy new niche, then gets promoted
What happens in the esablishement phase of cancer, how does it relate to ecology
happens after it has invaded and been promoted starts changing env (lower pH, recruits growth hormones) avoids predators (immune supression, T cell mitigation) does allelopathic competition (acidocis and hypoxia)
Explain one way cancer modifies env (+HIF-1 and HIF-1 alpha)
does glycolytic metabolism as ox availability decreases in tumour it switches to lactic acid fermentation, makes acidic env bad for normal cells HIF-1alpha usually degreades in O2 but since levels are low it doesn’t degrade. Lactic acid upregulates HIF-1alpha and hypoxia. HIF -1 stimulates vascular endothelial growth factor and promotes angiogenesis.
What is an evolutionary ‘Stable State’ vs an evolutionary ‘Stable Strategy
Evolutionary Stable Strategy - life strategy whereby if every memb of a pop adopts it, no mutant strategy can invade Evolutionary Stable State - when genetic composition of pop is maintained after disturbance, unless disturbance is too big
What is the ‘niche space’ associated with the human ecosystem? How does this relate to cancer as an invasive species?
normal pH level, ox level, extracellular space, functioning immune cells Cancer changes the niche like invasive species and makes it harder for somatic cells to live
What is hysteresis
Path to health is not the same as the path to disease The problem with the reactive appraoch, It is easier to prevent than to go back to what it was before. The idea that the current state of the system is not just dependant on the most recent input but historical inputs as well.
Proactive vs reactive approach to cancer/invasive species
proactive - prevention, detect of potential invader before establishement, prevent cancer from forming Reactive - conservation/treatment, determine how established invaders impact ecological systems, Determine cancer effects and try and treat them
What are hallmarks of cancer
• self sufficiency in growth signasl -insensitive to antigrowth signals -evasion of apoptosis • limitless replicative potential • sustained angiogenesis • tumour invasion and metastasis