The T cells of the immune system, known as ‘natural killer’ cells because they are responsible for eliminating pathogens that invade the body, need a certain amount of magnesium to carry out their functions efficiently. Therefore, having adequate levels of magnesium in the blood is key for our immune system to be able to fight these pathogens, but also to act against cancer cells, as revealed by a new study carried out by scientists from the University of Basel and Basel University Hospital. A finding that may have important repercussions for people with cancer.
Although the possible impact of magnesium on the immune system was not well understood, it was already known that a deficiency of this mineral was associated with various diseases, including infections and cancer, and previous studies had shown that cancerous tumors spread more rapidly in the body of mice that were experimented with when these animals were given a diet low in magnesium, and that their immune response against influenza viruses was also affected by this deficiency.
What the authors of the new work have discovered is that T cells are able to eliminate abnormal or infected cells efficiently only in an environment rich in magnesium and that this is very important in particular for the function of a protein on the surface of T cells called LFA-1.
The immune response of T cells against cancer cells was strengthened when there was an increase in the local concentration of magnesium in tumors
LFA-1 acts as a docking site, which plays a key role in T cell activation. efficiently to infected or abnormal cells”, explained Christoph Hess, from the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel and the University Hospital of Basel and the Department of Medicine of the University of Cambridge and director of the study, who adds: “Here is where magnesium comes into play. If magnesium is present in sufficient amounts near the T cells, it binds to LFA-1 and ensures that it remains in an extended position and is therefore active.”
Magnesium is essential for the functioning of T cells
That magnesium is an essential element for the proper functioning of T cells may be a fundamental finding for current cancer immunotherapies, since the objective of these treatments is to stimulate the immune system, especially cytotoxic T cells, to fight against cancer cells. The researchers demonstrated in experimental models that the immune response of T cells against cancer cells was strengthened when there was an increase in the local concentration of magnesium in tumors.
“To clinically verify this observation, we are now looking for ways to specifically increase the magnesium concentration in tumors,” says Christoph Hess. The research team working with Christoph Hess and his postdoc, Dr. Jonas Lötscher, lead author of the paper, used data from previously completed studies of cancer patients, which enabled them to show that immunotherapies were less effective in patients who had insufficient levels of magnesium in their blood.
According to Lötscher, data are still lacking to know whether a regular intake of magnesium influences the risk of developing cancer and concludes: “As a next step, we are planning prospective studies to test the clinical effect of magnesium as a catalyst for the immune system.”
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