A double blow to cancer
Combination of antibiotic and vitamin C proved effective against cancer
Scientists from the British Salford University experimentally found out that taking the antibiotic doxycycline followed by taking vitamin C is able to fight cancer stem cells. The experiments were carried out in laboratory conditions. The results are described on the pages of the journal Oncotarget (De Francesco et al., Vitamin C and Doxycycline: A synthetic lethal combination therapy targeting metabolic flexibility in cancer stem cells – VM).
"We know that some cancer cells survive after chemotherapy and become resistant to drugs. To find out how they do it, we have developed a new strategy,“ says lead author Michael Lisanti (in a press release from the University of Salford Vitamin C and Antibiotics: A one–two ”punch" for knocking-out cancer stem cells – VM). – We suspected that the answer might be prompted by the fact that some cancers, which we call metabolically flexible, are able to switch between food sources. Therefore, when the medication reduces the amount of available food, flexible cancer cells can feed themselves at the expense of an alternative source."
The new approach should prevent cancer cells from changing their diet. The authors gradually increased the dose of doxycycline to simulate metabolic rigidity. Doxycycline disrupts protein synthesis in bacteria. Mitochondria – intracellular "energy stations" – also originated from bacteria and synthesize their own protein, so this antibiotic reduces the synthesis of four of their proteins (MT-ND3, MT-CO2, MT-ATP6 and MT-ATP8) by 35 times. Because of this, the cell can only produce energy through rapid glycolysis, but cannot use oxygen to generate energy. Vitamin C in large quantities is harmful to such cells because it causes the formation of free radicals that damage their DNA. As a result, the cells remained alive, but were severely weakened and depleted. The combined effectiveness of the antibiotic and vitamin C was two orders of magnitude higher than that of such cell growth-preventing drugs as 2-DG.
A picture from an article in Oncotarget – VM.
Scientists have also identified eight other substances that can be used in conjunction with an antibiotic. Among them are berberine (a natural compound present in many plants) and cheap non-toxic and approved drugs. "This is further evidence that vitamin C and other non–toxic compounds may play a role in the fight against cancer," Lisanti concludes. "Our results indicate that this is a promising substance for clinical trials, as well as as an additive to more generally accepted therapies aimed against tumor recurrence, disease development and metastasis."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
16.06.2017