Omega-3s slow the progression of some malignant tumors: the discovery, the work of a research group ofUniversity of Leuven, confirms some previous cancer studies and opens the door to new potential therapies.
The beneficial properties of the so-called "good fatty acids", essential for human health and highly sought after by those seeking healthy eating, were already known. Among the Omega-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is essential for brain function, vision and the regulation of inflammatory phenomena.
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Previous research has also indicated a possible role in preventing and slowing the advance of certain types of cancer, including breast and colon.
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In 2016, the Leuven team led by Olivier Feron, who specializes in oncology, had discovered that cancer cells in an acidic microenvironment replace glucose with lipids as a source of energy to multiply. In 2020, a colleague later demonstrated that these same cells are the most aggressive and acquire the ability to leave the original tumor to generate metastases.
Meanwhile, another team from the same university, while developing better sources of dietary lipids, proposed to evaluate the behavior of cancer cells in the presence of different fatty acids.
So the team quickly identified that acidotic cancer cells responded in diametrically opposite ways depending on the fatty acid they were absorbing and, within a few weeks, the results were impressive and surprising.
We soon discovered that some fatty acids stimulated cancer cells while others killed them
explain the researchers.
In particular, the DHA li poisons literally. This poison acts on cancer cells through a phenomenon called ferroptosis, a type of cell death linked to the peroxidation of some fatty acids. The greater the amount of unsaturated fatty acids in the cell, the greater the risk of their oxidation.
© University of Leuven
Normally, in the acid compartment inside tumors, cells store these fatty acids in lipid droplets, a kind of bundle in which fatty acids are protected from oxidation. But, in the presence of a large amount of DHA, the cancer cell is overwhelmed and cannot store DHA, which oxidizes and reaches the death.
Using a lipid metabolism inhibitor that prevents lipid droplet formation, the researchers observed that this phenomenon is further amplified, which confirms the mechanism identified and opens the door to possibilities. of combined treatment.
For their study, the researchers used in particular a 3D tumor cell culture system, the spheroids, which represent an intermediate experimental model between traditional cell cultures and tumors in vivo and which, growing in vitro, are accessible to different types. of measurement.
Scientists have shown that, in the presence of DHA, the spheroids first grew and then imploded, verifying that tumor development was significantly slowed down.
© University of Leuven
For now a laboratory work, which confirms several other previous research.
And the "practical" implications?
For an adult - the researchers explain - it is recommended to consume at least 250 mg of DHA per day. But studies show that our diets only provide 50 to 100 mg per day on average. This is well below the minimum recommended intake.
The team will not stop, aiming at DHA as the key to alternative cancer treatment options, more effective and perhaps less invasive.
The work was published on Cell metabolism.
Sources of reference: University of Leuven / Cell metabolism
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