Complex relationships between host, gut microbial, and drug effects.

The activity of cancer drugs changes with gut microbes, according to a new study from UCL University in the United States, which aims to understand how worms treat drugs and nutrients.
findings suggest that cancer treatment can be improved by controlling gut bacteria and diet, and underscore the importance of understanding differences in the effectiveness of drugs between individuals.
, published today in Cell, uses a new high-volume screening method to illustrate the complex relationship between host, gut microbiome, and drug effects.
the effects of colorectal cancer treatment vary widely from individual to individual," said Filipe Cabreiro, Ph.D., UCL Biosciences, a researcher at UCL.
wanted to find out if it was because microbes changed the way the body processes drugs.
we have developed a rigorous system for preclinical screening of drug interactions (in host and microbial environments).
the system can also be used to design bacteria for drug delivery, so it has the potential to revolutionized cancer treatment.
the body how many microbes interact with drugs and food," said Timothy Scott, lead author of the study.
until now, it has been difficult to understand the relationship between hosts, microorganisms and drugs.
are often isolated and studied in isolation, which is not realistic in itself.
our system found that drug activity may be enhanced or inhibited by gut microbes.
team from UCL, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL, Germany), the University of Helsinki and the University of London have developed a three-way screening method based on beautiful crypto-worms.
are often used as simple models for studying human metabolism because of their evolutionary similarities to humans and their comparable microbial relationships.
they screened 55,000 cases of worms by altering bacterial genes and drug types and dosages.
the team used computational analysis to describe in detail how the genetic, dietary, and chemical components of bacteria affect fluoropyrimidines, a colorectal cancer drug.
fluorouracine works by preventing DNA replication, which also prevents cell division, one of the characteristics of cancer cells is uncontrolled division.
are often used as presection drugs, meaning the liver needs to break them down to become active drugs.
although fluorouracil is a common cancer treatment, there is no uniform dose requirement and genetic factors do not explain the individual differences in the drug.
extensive screening in this study illustrates two different ways bacteria alter drug activity.
first, some bacteria can help treat this prescient drug as an active drug, and second, some bacteria can affect the metabolic environment of cells, making them more likely to die under the influence of drugs.
team also found that the success rate of cancer treatments was likely to be affected if the interactions between hosts, microorganisms and drugs were not taken into account.
, for example, the antibiotic drug metformin reduces the activity of fluorouracil in the in-line worm because it inhibits the positive effects of bacteria.
Cabreiro, a professor of medicine, said: "In the past, people ignored the actual way drugs were treated for diseases, and our study illustrates that.
We plan to conduct further research in this area to find out which microorganisms have an effect on the activity of the drug in the human body and how it can be regulated through dietary supplements, which will have far-reaching implications for cancer treatment.
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