The influence of diet on health is the subject of numerous scientific research, since what we eat can harm or favor our physical and emotional well-being and have a direct impact on the aging process. Now, a study by scientists at the University of Chicago has revealed that transvaccenic acid (TVA), a long-chain fatty acid found in the meat and dairy products of grazing animals such as cows and sheep, can improve the immune response of the human organism.
The results have been published in the journal Nature and show that this nutrient enhances the activity of CD8+ T immune cells so that they infiltrate tumors and destroy cancer cells. Researchers have also found that cancer patients with higher levels of circulating TVA in the blood responded better to immunotherapy, so it could be used as a nutritional supplement to complement cancer treatments.
“Many studies try to decipher the link between diet and human health and it is very difficult to understand the underlying mechanisms due to the wide variety of foods people eat. But if we focus only on nutrients and metabolites derived from food, we can begin to see how they influence physiology and pathology,” said Jing Chen, professor of medicine at UChicago and one of the lead authors of the new study. “By focusing on nutrients that can activate T cell responses, we found one that actually enhances antitumor immunity by activating an important immune pathway,” he adds.
Nutrients capable of activating immune cells
Chen’s lab specializes in determining how metabolites, nutrients and other molecules circulating in the blood influence cancer development and response to cancer treatments. For the new study, they used a database that includes about 700 known metabolites that come from food and created a “blood nutrient” compound library consisting of 235 bioactive molecules derived from nutrients.
They screened these compounds for their ability to influence antitumor immunity by activating CD8+ T cells, a group of immune cells critical for killing cancerous or virus-infected cells. They found that TVA was the most effective and carried out experiments with cells and mouse models of various types of tumors.
They found that feeding mice a TVA-enriched diet significantly reduced the tumor growth potential of melanoma and colon cancer cells compared to mice fed a control diet. The TVA diet also improved the ability of CD8+ T cells to infiltrate tumors.
Finally, the team worked with Dr. Justin Kline, MD, professor of medicine at UChicago, to analyze blood samples taken from patients undergoing CAR-T cell immunotherapy treatment for lymphoma, and observed that patients with high levels Higher TVA tended to respond better to treatment than those with lower levels.
The findings should not serve as an excuse to eat more cheeseburgers, but rather indicate that nutritional supplements such as TVA could be used to promote T cell activity
The study suggests that TVA could be used as a dietary supplement to aid in various T cell-based cancer treatments, although Chen notes that it is important to determine the optimized amount of the nutrient itself, not the food source, since each There is increasing evidence indicating that excessive consumption of red meat and dairy products has detrimental effects on health, so the findings should not serve as an excuse to eat more cheeseburgers and pizza, the authors warn, but rather indicate that Nutritional supplements such as TVA could be used to promote T cell activity.
Chen believes there may be other nutrients that can do the same. “There is early data showing that other plant fatty acids signal through a similar receptor, so we think there is a high possibility that plant nutrients could do the same thing,” he said.
A balanced diet to prevent and combat cancer
Nabil Djouder, head of the Growth Factors, Nutrients and Cancer Group at the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), who did not participate in the study, explained in statements to SMC Spain: “This study reveals that TVA, naturally present in the fat of ruminant meat (cattle, sheep and lamb), in fish oil and yogurt or fermented milk, it reprograms immune cells so that they are more efficient against cancer. This occurs because TVA antagonizes a receptor generally activated by long-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate, synthesized by the microbiome from diets rich in fiber. Although epidemiological studies associate circulating TVA with lower adiposity and risk of diabetes, its effect on improving the immune system against cancer is significant.”
“This again suggests that meat is important and that a high-fiber diet may be detrimental to the activation of the immune system against cancer. Importantly, long-chain fatty acids synthesized by the microbiome, such as butyrate, have been implicated in liver cancer. Additionally, we have shown that a high-protein diet can protect against inflammation and colon cancer development in mice.
“This does not mean that meat is a protective factor against cancer. “Meat is made up of proteins and amino acids, but it also contains fat and blood, which in turn contain high levels of iron and nitrites.” “Epidemiological studies show an important association and risk in humans between the consumption of red meat or processed meat and the development of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. The World Health Organization has classified processed meat as carcinogenic.”
“It is always important to consider a balanced diet, avoiding highlighting specific foods. A balanced diet generally includes a variety of foods from different food groups to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients. Emphasizing diversity and moderation in food choices helps maintain health and prevent potential nutritional imbalances.
“This advance opens the door to the development of more focused and effective treatments compared to the direct use of TVA. The ability to design specific synthetic compounds could lead to more effective therapies tailored to the individual needs of patients, marking a significant step towards precision nutrition in the oncology field. “This promising approach could revolutionize the way we approach and treat cancer, enabling more advanced and efficient therapeutic strategies.”
