2023-07-24 23:09:00
A team of scientists led by Sanford Burnham Prebys and the International Cancer Institute in Osaka recently discovered that mannose – a type of sugar known to be deadly to bees – inhibits the growth of cancer cells in humans and could therefore potentially be used as a secondary treatment for cancer.
“This sugar could give cancer an extra boost alongside other treatments,” said study co-author Hudson Freeze, director of the human genetics program at Sanford. “And because mannose is found naturally throughout the body, it could improve cancer treatment without any unwanted side effects. »
Anti-cancer properties
Mannose is a type of sugar that the body adds to proteins to stabilize their structure and help them interact effectively with other molecules, in a process called glycosylation. Although scientists have long known that malfunctioning of this process can lead to rare and life-threatening diseases, the anti-cancer properties of mannose have yet to be explored.
“Until now, the most promising therapeutic use of mannose has been to treat congenital disorders of glycosylation, diseases that can cause a wide range of serious symptoms throughout the body,” Freeze said. “But we think there may be ways to take advantage of mannose against cancer and other diseases as well. »
Purpose of the study
To better understand the anti-cancer properties of mannose, scientists looked at a surprising effect this type of sugar has on bees.
“It’s been known for over a century that mannose is deadly to bees because they can’t process it the way humans do – it’s called ‘bee syndrome’. We wanted to see if there was a relationship between bee syndrome and the anti-cancer properties of mannose, which could lead to a whole new approach to fighting cancer,” Freeze explained.
What the researchers learned
Using genetically modified human cancer cells from fibrosarcoma (a rare type of cancer affecting connective tissues), experts recreated the bee syndrome and discovered that, without the specific enzyme needed to metabolize mannose, the cells replicate slowly and are more vulnerable to chemotherapy.
Thus, the triggering of bee syndrome in cancer cells renders them unable to synthesize the building blocks of DNA and replicate normally – a phenomenon that could explain the anti-cancer properties of mannose.
Although exploiting bee syndrome may prove to be a promising complementary treatment for cancer, more research is needed to determine which types of cancer are most vulnerable to this type of sugar.
“If we can find cancers that have low activity of the mannose-transforming enzyme, treating them with mannose might give just enough of a boost to make chemotherapy more effective,” Freeze said. “A lot of people assume that you always discover treatments in response to disease, but sometimes you find a biology that might be useful for treatment and then you have to find the disease that matches it. »
“The glycobiology of sugar metabolism in cancer cells is still an uncharted frontier, and this could be an untapped treasure trove of potential treatments just waiting to be discovered,” he concluded.
The study is published in the journal eVie.
Learn more about mannose
Mannose is a type of sugar molecule that belongs to a group of substances known as monosaccharides – which are the simplest form of carbohydrates and cannot be further hydrolyzed into simpler compounds. Other common monosaccharides include glucose and fructose.
Mannose is important in human metabolism, particularly in the glycosylation of certain proteins. Glycosylation is a process in which a carbohydrate, such as mannose, is attached to a protein or lipid. This modification can alter the function and behavior of the protein or lipid.
One of the notable characteristics of mannose is its role in urinary tract health. Some research suggests that D-mannose, a form of mannose, can stick to certain bacteria such as E. coli, preventing them from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract and causing infections. Thus, D-mannose is sometimes used as a supplement to support urinary tract health.
Additionally, mannose can be used by the body to produce mannose-6-phosphate, which is involved in lysosomal metabolism. Deficiencies in the production or utilization of mannose-6-phosphate can lead to certain types of lysosomal storage diseases.
Par Andrei Ionescu, Terre.com Personal editor
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