By removing certain amino acids from the diet given to rodents with a deadly brain tumor known as glioblastoma, researchers found that destructive cells began to die through a process called ferroptosis. In addition, mice fed a restricted diet were also more receptive to drugs that cause the same type of cancer cell death, a finding that raises the potential for investigation into combating human disease. It is a source of information.
Cell death in our bodies is a normal part of how we function. Normally, through a process known as apoptosis, cells that are abnormal or simply no longer needed are broken down and reabsorbed. increase. However, this process can be blocked by cancer cells, so the body struggles to get rid of them and they can multiply and pose a serious threat to our health. Another relatively recently discovered type of cell death in which iron plays an important role. Its activation has previously been associated with possible ways to fight cancer.
In a new study, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (UNC) and Columbia University found that cells involved in glioblastoma formation were particularly susceptible to death from ferroptosis. This finding is important because glioblastoma is 100% fatal and there is no known cure. It is also a fast-growing cancer with a median survival of only 16 months.
In their study, the team fed mice a diet that restricted intake of cysteine and methionine, two sulfur amino acids previously associated with ferroptosis and cancer cell death not only in sarcoma, but also in lung and pancreatic cancers. They found that diet not only made glioblastoma cells more likely to die with ferroptosis, but also made the cells more susceptible to chemotherapeutic drugs, i.e., at low doses. All of the mice on the special diet had improved survival over those on the control diet, with mice that combined the diet and chemotherapy regimen having the longest survival.
Whole grains, beef, eggs, and chicken are high in cysteine, while foods high in methionine include Brazil nuts, fish, pork, beef, eggs, and chicken. It’s unclear whether human glioblastoma patients on diets restricting these amino acids would do as well as mice in this study, but UNC principal investigator Dominique Higgins said: I plan to look into it.
“Currently, we need to find a way to eliminate these components (cysteine and methionine) through dietary requirements, but we also need to reduce the energy burden that patients, especially cancer patients, may have with different requirements than the average patient. We have to keep the requirements,” Higgins said.
He is working with colleagues to plan a human study of glioblastoma patients on a restricted diet prior to tumor removal surgery. After surgery, researchers will analyze the tumors to see the effects of diet.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Source: UNC Health
