Vitamin B12 plays a critical role in maintaining nerve function, promoting red blood cell production, and facilitating DNA synthesis, which are all vital processes for good health. Now, it has been discovered that this micronutrient also significantly increases the efficiency of cellular reprogramming, a promising finding for regenerative medicine.
IRB Barcelona researchers led by Dr. Manuel Serrano have carried out a study that has discovered the potential of vitamin B12 supplementation to accelerate tissue repair in a model of ulcerative colitis, which may contribute to developing new treatments for inflammatory diseases. Their results have been published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
The research focused on an experimental process known as “cellular reprogramming” and is believed to mimic the early phases of tissue repair. Researchers discovered that cellular reprogramming in mice consumes large amounts of vitamin B12 and that, in fact, vitamin B12 depletion is a factor that delays and impairs certain facets of the reprogramming process. Although the normal diet of mice is rich in vitamin B12, vitamin B12 supplementation significantly improved the efficiency of reprogramming.
Therapeutic potential of vitamin B12 in ulcerative colitis
The researchers validated their findings in a model of ulcerative colitis, demonstrating that intestinal cells that initiate repair undergo a process similar to cellular reprogramming and that they also benefit from vitamin B12 supplementation. Patients with small intestine disease could potentially benefit from vitamin B12 supplementation.
The research delved deeper into the metabolic requirements of cellular reprogramming, revealing that vitamin B12 is a limiting factor for a particular branch of metabolism that is involved in a reaction known as ‘methylation’. The DNA of the cells that initiate reprogramming or tissue repair requires very high levels of this methylation reaction and, therefore, vitamin B12. The researchers found that insufficient vitamin B12 during tissue reprogramming or repair caused significant epigenetic changes, leading to errors in the function of multiple genes.
“Our research reveals a fundamental role of vitamin B12 in cellular reprogramming and tissue repair. “These findings are promising for regenerative medicine.”
“Vitamin B12 supplementation corrected this imbalance, resulting in greater fidelity of gene function and greater efficiency of reprogramming in general,” notes Dr. Marta Kovatcheva, first author of the study and postdoctoral researcher in the same laboratory.
“Our research reveals a fundamental role of vitamin B12 in cellular reprogramming and tissue repair. These findings are promising for regenerative medicine, with the potential to benefit patients through better nutrition,” says Dr. Manuel Serrano.
Vitamin B12 helps reduce inflammation
The group led by Dr. Serrano has recently published another study, in collaboration with the laboratory of Dr. Rosa Lamuela-Raventós, from the University of Barcelona (UB), and Dr. Ramon Estruch, from the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, in which it was concluded that people with higher levels of vitamin B12 in their blood had lower levels of inflammatory markers (IL-6 and CRP).
The researchers also observed a similar relationship in aged mice, suggesting that vitamin B12 exerts an anti-inflammatory action by reducing these markers in the body and providing valuable information about the potential health benefits of vitamin B12.
Source: IRB Barcelona (Institute for Research in Biomedicine)
