Jellyfish glow helps scientists to spot tumours deep inside the body



Scientists are using the proteins that cause luminescence in jellyfish to spot cancers

A technique jellyfish use to glow in the dark could help shed new light on cancer.

British scientists have found a way of using luminous cells from jellyfish to spot tumours deep within the human body.



Researcher Professor Norman Maitland believes the technology could be at least ten times better than CT scanners at detecting tumours.

He said: ‘Cancers deep within the body are difficult to spot at an early stage and early diagnosis is critical for the successful treatment of any form of cancer.



‘What we have developed is a process which involves inserting proteins derived from luminous jellyfish cells into human cancer cells.



‘Then, when we illuminate the tissue, a special camera detects these proteins as they light up, indicating where the tumours are.’



American chemist Roger Tsien won the Nobel Prize for chemistry two years ago for purifying the protein behind the jellyfish’s glow.

‘When we heard about Dr Tsien’s work, we realised how that advance might be useful in the diagnosis of cancer,’ said Professor Maitland.

‘X-Rays, for example, struggle to penetrate well deeply into tissues and bone, so diagnosing dangerous microscopic bone cancer is difficult.



‘Our process should allow earlier diagnosis to take place.’



Professor Maitland, of the Yorkshire Cancer Research Laboratory at York University, has used a harmless virus to carry the protein to the tumour.



Once there, the virus multiplies, making more and more of the colourful protein.



Professor Maitland said: ‘When a specially developed camera is switched on, the proteins just flare up and you can see where the cancer cells are. We call the process “Virimaging”.’



CT scanners can only detect tumours after several thousand cells have formed.



But the new technique, which is still in the early stages of development, can spot bundles of fewer than 100 cancerous cells.



It could be used to spot new cancers, as well as look for those that have spread throughout the body or returned after treatment, said the professor.



The professor, who is seeking funding for the specialised camera equipment, hopes the method will be suitable for use in people for the first time within five years.



Scientist already use jellyfish proteins to ‘tag’ genes to learn more about how they work.