Characterising the impact of immune dysfunction and cancer on the gastrointestinal tract in mice

 

Abstract

The primary objective of the study was to characterize the impact of immune dysfunction and cancer on the gastrointestinal tract in mice. However, the paper had three aims including to assess for anatomical differences in the GI tract from non-tumour and mammary tumour-bearing mice as well as to assess for histo-pathological differences in the GI tract from non-tumour and mammary tumour-bearing mice and to assess for neuronal differences and Iba1 expressing muscular is macrophages in the GI tract from non-tumour and mammary tumour-bearing mice.  The researcher adopted animal model and evaluation and the mice used in this study consisted of 12 female adult BALB/C mice obtained from the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia). All the mice used were 14 weeks old and consisted of ones with about 9 tumour-bearing and 3 non-tumour bearing mice. Both groups were euthanized by cervical dislocation following the Austin Health Animal Ethics Committee guidelines. During the study, Histopathological investigation was done on cellular structures of tissues and this help to assess the morphology of the immune cells present. Data were expressed then analyzed using t-test and analysis of variance ANOVA models.  The study found out that the change in neuronal splicing factor expression in mice in initial and advanced stages of cancer were due to immune and metastatic cancer cells.  The study also found that there is a significant association between changes in the immune system through the introduction of mammary tumour metastasis and gastrointestinal pathology in mice. It was concluded that immune dysfunction occur as a result of changes in the composition of immune cells, in particular, T cells and macrophages.

Discussion

From the analysis of the study findings, it was true that different characterizations impact the immune dysfunction and cancer on the gastrointestinal tract in mice.  The study results indicated that the changes in neuronal splicing factor expression in mice in initial and advanced stages of cancer were due to immune and metastatic cancer cells.  The study also found that there is a significant association between changes in the immune system through the introduction of mammary tumour metastasis and gastrointestinal pathology in mice. It was concluded that immune dysfunction occur as a result of changes in the composition of immune cells, in particular, T cells and macrophages.  Thus, the consideration of immune cells is important in managing immune dysfunctions and cancer development challenges in mice and other animals.

The study findings are in line with those done by Yang, Chunfa, et al who noted that there is an association between functional changes in the GI tract and disease ranging from colitis to cancer cells. The study also noted that structural and histopathological changes affects the  GI tract  since the changes in GI tissue structure affects the cancer cells development in terms of the mammary tumours problems, especially in mice. This means that it is important to provide alterations to the immune system through the introduction of mammary tumour metastasis and this will affect mouse gastrointestinal pathology and may positively reduce the cancer cells.

Importantly, the study findings supported Kim et al. (2017) findings which anticipated that there is a significant association between changes in the immune system through the introduction of mammary tumour metastasis and gastrointestinal pathology. The findings also showed that there was suppressed NOVA1 expression in tumour cells [68]. These findings were independently associated with advanced stages of tumours that weakened general cellular survival, an observation that the researchers attributed to immune dysfunction as a result of changes in the composition of immune cells, in particular, T cells and macrophages [68]. From this analysis, it can be argued that the study support past models.

The study findings were consistent with those of Blomberg et al. (2018) who reported changes in the GI tract in mice due to metastatic cancer, including significant variations in the immune landscape of various types of tumours [67]. According to these researchers, variations in sensitivity to immunotherapy were attributed to variations in metabolism and genetic composition of cancer cells [67]. Furthermore, a significant association between hypobaric hypoxia exposure and the gastrointestinal immune axis was reported by Khanna et al. (2019). Additional findings indicated that the presence of tumours in mice led to changes in the gastrointestinal tract [64, 65]. Therefore, it can be argued that mammary tumours are a leading cause of abnormalities that affect the gastrointestinal tract.

Moreover, it was evident from the study findings that cancer cells can penetrate the gastrointestinal tract through the upper GI tract [25]. Once breast cancer cells invade the GI tract, the immune system is continually suppressed; leading to the development of irritable bowel syndrome among other gastrointestinal tract disorders among breast cancer patients and this is evident in mice as well.   It was also evident that the manipulation of immunity for the treatment of cancer is important and this can be done through inhibiting the immune evasion or strengthening the immune response rate.  This is in line with other past studies which have revealed that  the immune response to cancer through the immune system can either be adaptive or innate (Willingham, Stephen B., et al. 56).

 

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident from this paper that different characterizations impact the immune dysfunction and cancer on the gastrointestinal tract in mice. The study was done based on anatomical analysis of the differences in the GI tract from non-tumour and mammary tumour-bearing mice  and the researcher considered the evaluation of histo-pathological differences and the neuronal differences in different mice’s.  Evidently, the study also found out that the changes in the GI tract in mice is mainly due to metastatic cancer. This means that there are significant variations in the immune landscape of various types of tumours and these variations are sensitivity to immunotherapy and they can be attributed to variations in metabolism and genetic composition of cancer cells.

Moreover, the findings of the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between hypobaric hypoxia exposure and the gastrointestinal immune axis and the presence of tumours in mice led to changes in the gastrointestinal tract. This is clear evidence that mammary tumours are a leading cause of abnormalities that affect the gastrointestinal tract. The findings of the study indicated that the immune cell infiltration in the primary tumour can cause a negative or positive effect on the prognosis of the patient and tumours can locate away from the immune system.  However, the key tumour stroma consists of various cell types that take part in tissue homeostasis such as endothelial cells, immune cells, and fibroblasts and this should be considered in managing the immune dysfunction and cancer cells on the gastrointestinal tract of mice.

 

 

 

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