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    "story_id": "mp-2026-07-21-005",
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    "headline": "A Potassium Channel Makes Cancer Cells Easier to Break",
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    "dek": "Activating KCNMB1 stiffened metastatic cells and helped immune cells attack them in preclinical models.",
    "summary": "Activating KCNMB1 stiffened metastatic cells and helped immune cells attack them in preclinical models.",
    "body_text": "University of Illinois Chicago researchers identified the ion-channel protein KCNMB1 as a controller of cancer-cell stiffness. Increasing its activity made metastatic cells less yielding and more vulnerable to T cells and natural killer cells. In a metastatic breast-cancer animal model, the potassium-channel activator BMS-204352 reduced distant lung growth, with effects dependent on functional T cells. The work suggests a druggable biophysical target but has not established safety or benefit in patients.",
    "why_it_matters": "Activating KCNMB1 stiffened metastatic cells and helped immune cells attack them in preclinical models.",
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    "tags": [
      "metastasis",
      "ion channels",
      "immunotherapy"
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      "source_id": "source-2026-07-21-005",
      "title": "University of Illinois Chicago via Newswise: KCNMB1 and metastasis",
      "publisher": "University of Illinois Chicago via Newswise",
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    "title": "A Potassium Channel Makes Cancer Cells Easier to Break",
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