The right combination of diet and bacteria limits cancer progression

The diet can have significant effects on the gut microbiome, populations of microorganisms such as bacteria living in the intestine. It is well known that through complex metabolic interactions, dietary habits contribute to cancer prevention. More specifically, diets rich in fiber reduce the risk of developing specific cancers such as colorectal cancer (CRC). Although these diets are an effective means of preventing cancer, their potential role in cancer progression and treatment remains poorly understood.

A team of scientists from the Center for Systemic Biomedicine of Luxembourg (LCSB) and the Life Sciences Research Unit (LSRU) of the University of Luxembourg discovered that a combination of prebiotics, such as fibers and probiotics, the expression of procarcogenic genes and drug resistance. The combination leads to metabolic changes that affect the growth of cancer cells and can help treat diseases such as CRC.

In order to study the interactions between the diet, the microbiome and the host, biologists worked with a single platform called "human-microbial X-talk (HuMiX)," which allows the culture of human intestinal cells with bacteria under representative conditions. . In this study, they studied the effects of diets and a specific probiotic on CRC cells.

In contrast to individual treatments rich in fiber or probiotics, only the combination of fibers and probiotics led to the beneficial effects observed. In collaboration with their collaborators, the researchers integrated a computerized metabolic model of the interactions between diet, host and microbiome. They identified the effects of combination therapy: downregulation of genes associated with colorectal cancer and drug resistance, as well as the attenuation of the self-renewal capacity of cancer cells. Importantly, through careful molecular analysis, they have also identified the cocktail of molecules produced by the combination, thus providing a mechanistic basis for the beneficial effects observed.

"Currently, cancer patients do not benefit from evidence-based personalized dietary interventions during chemotherapy treatment.Our findings support the exploitation of food-microbiome interactions as a supportive therapeutic approach." in cancer treatment, "says Dr. Kacy Greenhalgh, doc within the LCSB's Ecological Systems Biology Group and lead author of the study. "I hope our results will reach patients and medical practitioners in their respective fields and that in the future, more efforts will be deployed, including personalized dietary recommendations in cancer treatment plans. "

Elisabeth Letellier, Senior Researcher in LSRU's Molecular Disease Mechanisms Group, said: "This is especially the case at CRC, where the microbiome has gained importance over the past two years. The microbiome-host interaction could lead to new therapeutic strategies for patients with CRC ".

The research project was a collaborative effort of different groups from the University of Luxembourg. "Decrypting host-diet-microbiome complex interactions and their effects on health and disease states requires concerted efforts of experts from different fields.The interdisciplinary approach was crucial to understanding the highly complex molecular processes underpinning. the biological beneficial effects observed, "said Associate Professor Paul Wilmes, head of the LCSB Ecosystems Biology Group and lead author of the study.