Kolkata: The medicinal power of the humble neem, widely used in India as an insecticide and germicide, is now being channelized by a group of Kolkata scientists to wage a war against cancer.

The team of researchers at the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) has shown (in its two successive papers) how a purified protein from neem leaves inhibits growth of tumour cells in mice.

Instead of targeting the cancer cells directly, the protein - Neem Leaf Glycoprotein or NLGP - modulates the immune cells (cells that are responsible for providing immunity to the body against harmful agents) present within the tumour environment and also in the peripheral system like blood.

Immune cells are normally hostile to cells that are dangerous to the body including cancer cells. However, in a unique role-reversal during tumour development, these crucial defence elements are enslaved by the cancerous cells to promote their growth and proliferation. Therefore, instead of destroying the lethal cells, the guard cells actually favour their growth.

What makes NLGP special is that the extract modifies the milieu of cells surrounding the tumour (called tumour microenvironment or TME) and spurs these cells towards a normal state that is debilitating for toxic cells like cancer cells.

"In our recent study we have seen that NLGP has the potency to normalise tumour micro-environment consisting of tumour cells and tumour associated non-transformed cells that help in tumour progression. Basically, NLGP modulates the tumour microenvironment in such a way that it restricts further growth of the tumour," Rathindranath Baral, head of the department of immunoregulation and immunodiagnostics, CNCI, told IANS.

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