Damaged DNA can spread between human cells. What could that mean for cancer?

Damaged DNA can spread between human cells. What could that mean for cancer? Skip to content Subscribe today Every print subscription comes with full digital access Subscribe Now By Meghan Rosen 6 hours ago Share this: Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Damaged DNA can escape from one human cell and infiltrate another. Like prisoners tunneling out of jail, this DNA travels via tubelike structures between neighboring cells , scientists report May 19 in Cell . Once it has arrived at its new location, the dodgy DNA can start acting up, potentially transferring trouble between cells. “This is an important and exciting discovery,” says cancer biologist Paul Mischel of Stanford University. The new study, which shows that one human cell can influence another by passing DNA directly, raises all sorts of questions about what role the phenomenon may play in cancer. If tumors use this DNA transfer trick, harmful mutations could potentially spread from cancer cells to healthy cells, says cancer cell biologist Peter Ly of the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern in Dallas. How — or if — these roaming chunks of DNA might contribute to disease is “an area that we’re actively exploring,” Ly says. His team first observed the traveling DNA after mixing two cell types together in the lab. When the researchers triggered damage to the genome, a cell’s full set of genetic instructions, they noticed that DNA fragments appeared to move between cells. Human DNA typically stays protected within the nucleus — not out wandering from cell to cell. Looking under a microscope, Ly’s team saw living cells connected by wispy threads, like strands of spun sugar. Scientists have known about these threads, called tunneling nanotubes, for decades. They’re like highways for cargo transport between