Nobel Laureate Reveals Cause of Indirect Carcinogenicity of Milk/Beef

The famous German scientist Harald zur Hausen (Harald zur Hausen) discovered that certain types of papillomavirus (HPV) are the causative factors of cervical cancer, which laid the foundation for the development of cervical cancer vaccines, thereby obtaining 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
.

As early as more than a decade ago, Nobel Prize winner Zur Hausen discovered through big data that the consumption of beef and milk is related to the occurrence of cancer, especially colorectal cancer
.

Pathogens in beef and milk may cause cancer, Hausen believes

A few years ago, a research team led by De Villiers at the German Cancer Research Center identified a new pathogen in dairy products and bovine serum, a ring-shaped DNA, showing the genetic sequence of certain bacterial plasmids
.

The research team named it BMMF (Bovine Meat and Milk Factors)

So, does BMMF, a novel infectious agent found in dairy products and bovine serum, play a role in the development of colorectal cancer? To figure this out, Hausen and Villiers collaborated
.

On March 15, 2021, the team of Zur Hausen and De Villiers published a paper titled "Analysis of chronic inflammatory lesions of the colon for BMMF Rep antigen expression and CD68 macrophage interaction" at the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
.

The team discovered the presence of BMMF in cells adjacent to tumors in colon cancer patients, and further discovered that BMMF triggers local chronic inflammation, leading to elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS)

This study supports a causal relationship between milk and beef intake and the development of colorectal cancer
.

The research team also stated: "BMMF should be considered as an indirect carcinogen, and people with early detection of BMMF should be screened for colorectal cancer in a timely manner

The team found that BMMF can multiply in human cells and produce the protein product Rep in human cells needed for reproduction
.

But what role do they play in the development of colorectal cancer? How does it work?

Using tissue samples from colorectal cancer and healthy guts, the team took a closer look at this question
.

Using an antibody against the Rep protein, the team detected 15 BMMFs in 16 colorectal cancer tissue samples

amazing discovery

The team was surprised to find that tests showed that it was not the cancer cells themselves that contained the Rep protein, but cells near the tumor that contained the Rep protein
.

Rep proteins are present in the lamina propria of connective tissue under the intestinal mucosa, especially in the connective tissue near the intestinal crypts

The team also succeeded in isolating BMMF DNA, which is closely associated with the pathogen, from milk samples of these Rep-positive cells
.

Does BMMF trigger chronic inflammation?

The team speculates that the presence of BMMF may trigger a chronic inflammatory process in gut tissue
.

One sign of inflammation is the presence of pro-inflammatory macrophages, which are actually present near the tumor

Is the presence of BMMF and the resulting chronic inflammation associated with colorectal cancer?

The team next looked for combined Rep/CD68 signaling in colorectal cancer samples and compared it to a group of colorectal cancer tissue samples from a younger, cancer-free control group
.

The results showed that in colorectal cancer patients, 7.
3% of all intestinal cells in the tumor environment were positive for the combined Rep/CD68 signal
.
In the control group, that figure was only 1.
7%
.

The team also found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were elevated in the environment of Rep-positive cells
.
Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species can promote the occurrence and development of gene mutations, which are important factors in the occurrence of cancer
.

Are these inflammations linked to cancer?

The team found that these inflammations were particularly concentrated near the intestinal crypts, which are home to intestinal stem cells responsible for the constant regeneration of the intestinal mucosa, which in turn produce large numbers of progenitor cells that divide rapidly and are prone to promoting mutations
.
The more mutations that accumulate, the higher the risk of genes that cause uncontrolled cell division and growth
.

Many previous studies have shown that chronic inflammation can lead to cancer, a well-known example being the development of liver cancer caused by chronic inflammation caused by hepatitis C virus infection
.

Is BMMF an indirect carcinogen?

For these findings, Zull Hausen argues that BMMF from beef and milk should be considered an indirect carcinogen that may act on intestinal mucosal cell division for decades by causing chronic inflammation, promoting genetic mutations that lead to cancer
.
He also said that BMMF infections often occur early in life, around weaning
.

In the end, Hausen said, the findings support previous assumptions that milk and beef consumption are responsible for the development of colon cancer, and the results also open the possibility for colorectal cancer prevention interventions, for example, for early detection of the presence of BMMF, which should be investigated in a timely manner.
Rectal cancer screening
.

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