Lung tumor bacteria plus vitamin B2 metabolite may boost immune response to cancer
Bacteria in lung tumors may boost the activation of innate immune cells in the presence of a common vitamin metabolite, according to a preclinical study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
A new study from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy suggests that bacteria present in lung tumors, combined with a metabolite of vitamin B2, may enhance the immune response to cancer. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that bacteria produce MR1, a protein on antigen-presenting immune cells, which then activates MAIT cells.
These innate immune cells are crucial for detecting and fighting threats in the body, including tumors. The study's lead author, Pakhi Birla, discovered that a specific enterococcal bacteria, which produces the B2 metabolite, also boosts MAIT cell activation when the metabolite is added to cell cultures. This discovery opens up the possibility of using a metabolite and bacteria to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer, creating a tumor-agnostic, off-the-shelf therapy that could benefit all patients, rather than the costly and personalized adaptive immune T cell therapies currently in use.
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