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    Home > Biochemistry News > Biotechnology News > Nature: Anti-cancer potential target - MMA.

    Nature: Anti-cancer potential target - MMA.

    • Last Update: 2020-09-20
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    As we age, genetic mutations accumulate and continued exposure to carcinogens increases the risk of cancer.
    most carcinogens are present in the environment, but the body itself can produce some carcinogens.
    In a new study published August 19 in the journal Nature, researchers at the Weill Cornell School of Medicine in the United States found that as we age, methyl propylene acid (MMA), a by-product of protein and fat digestion, accumulates in the blood and may promote the spread of tumors, suggesting that MMA is a promising therapeutic target for advanced cancer.
    source: Nature in vitamin B12 as a cofactor response, MMA will be converted to amber coA.
    acrylic CoA then enters the triamciacide cycle, a key metabolic pathway for cellular energy production.
    , however, when some diseases occur, the body becomes unable to metabolize MMA effectively, leading to the build-up of toxicity in the blood.
    For example, in methylmalonic acidaemia, a metabolic disorder, a genetic defect in a key enzyme, such as methyl propylene coA transferase, or a deficiency in vitamin B12 can cause methyl propylene coA to fail to convert successfully into amber CoA, resulting in the accumulation of MMA in the body.
    study, researchers observed that healthy people over 60 had significantly higher levels of MMA in their blood than healthy people under 30.
    in individual studies, elevated MMA levels did not cause poor health in participants.
    However, the researchers treated human tumor cells using serums extracted from the blood of the elderly group, or serums containing high concentrations of MMA, which led to the cells showing the characteristics of metastasis cancer cells, including loss of intercellular attachment and increased cell mobility.
    these cells were injected into the mice, metastases formed in the lungs.
    further studies of high MMA promoting cancer cell invasion (Source: Nature) show that large lipid structures present in "old" serums are critical to the ability to induce cell metastasis.
    these lipid structures in the blood prevent MMA from entering the cells, indicating that MMA is located in a compound containing large lipids.
    role of this lipid structure and its mechanism to help MMA enter cells has yet to be determined.
    in a follow-up study, to explore which molecular changes MMA triggered in cells, the researchers tested the gene expression spectrum of MMA-treated cells and compared them with cells that were not treated by MMA.
    , SOX4 is one of the most expressed genes in MMA-treated cells.
    SOX4 is responsible for coding transcription factors involved in regulating embryonic development and cancer progression.
    After inhibiting SOX4 expression, the researchers observed that the response of cancer cells to MMA was blocked, and that SOX4 expression inhibition also blocked the formation of metastases in mice injected with "old" serum-treated cancer cells.
    , MMA indirectly induces an increase in SOX4 expression, which in turn leads to extensive reprogramming of gene expression and subsequent cell transfer.
    MMA and cancer cells (Source: Nature) It is worth noting that all participants in this study did not appear to have cancer, suggesting that MMA has a specific effect on the spread of cancer in the body rather than the formation of the initial cancer.
    there are many unanswered questions, including why MMA accumulates with age and whether the mechanisms of MMA's role in humans are the same as those observed by researchers in blood samples and mice.
    , the blood samples used in the study were all taken from men, and the researchers hope to further examine whether MMA accumulation has the same effect on women.
    , we hope to eventually develop treatments that reduce MMA levels to reduce cancer mortality," he said.
    Blenis, one of the authors of the paper, said.
    reference: 1 sna P. Gomes et al. Age-induced complex of methylmalonic acid promotes tumour progression. Nature (2020) 2 smolys in the blood of older people promote cancer spread (Source: Nature) 3 s Study finds cancer-boosting culprit that multiplies with age (Source: MedicalXpress)
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