
Cell membrane protrusions called “blebs” that typically signify the end of life for healthy cells do the opposite for melanoma cells, activating processes in these cells that help them to survive and spread, a University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) study suggests. The findings, published on March 1, 2023 in Nature, could lead to new ways to fight melanoma and potentially a broad range of other cancers. The Nature article is titled “Blebs Promote Cell Survival by Assembling Oncogenic Signalling Hubs” and is accompanied by a Nature News and Views article titled “Bleb Protrusions Help Cancer Cells to Cheat Death."