- Hope for cancer patients
- Scientists discover healing method
- It has to do with beer
An unexpected discovery could inspire new cancer treatment methods in the future. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Germany have discovered that beer, of all things, could help in the treatment of cancer, as can be read on the University of Virginia's website.
Breakthrough in cancer research: THIS is what brewer's yeast has to do with it
The researchers found that brewer's yeast of the species S. pombe is able to enter a dormant state when nutrients are scarce. This ability to survive periods of stress mirrors the behavior of cancer cells, which also survive nutrient scarcity during periods of uncontrolled growth.
Ahmad Jomaa, a researcher at the University of Virginia, explains: "Cells can take a break when things get tough by going into deep sleep in order to stay alive, then at a later point they seemingly just come back."
These findings could open up new ways of making cancer cells more susceptible through nutrient deprivation and thus facilitate treatment.
The study of yeast provides valuable insights into the basic cellular processes that occur in both healthy and cancerous cells. Jomaa and his team, supported by the Searle Scholars Program and the American Cancer Society, discovered that yeast mitochondria become coated with inactive ribosomes during dormancy.
These ribosomes, normally responsible for protein synthesis, could protect the mitochondria or trigger a signaling cascade, according to Simone Mattei from the European Laboratory.
However, the exact reasons for this wrapping remain unclear. Mattei explains: "A starved cell will eventually start digesting itself, so the ribosomes might be coating the mitochondria to protect them. They might also attach to trigger a signaling cascade inside the mitochondria."
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Jomaa says: "For the next steps, we aim to understand not only how cells regulate entry into dormancy but also how they awaken from this deep sleep. For now, we will use yeast because it is much easier to manipulate. We are now also investigating this in cultured cancer cells, which is not an easy task."
And further: "Ultimately, I hope that my group’s research will lay the foundation for discovering new markers to track dormant cancer cells. These cells are not easily detected in diagnostic settings, but we are hopeful that our research will generate more interest in helping us reach our goal."
