Scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital have found that by-products of gut bacteria can stimulate the growth of pre-leukemic cells and increase the risk of developing blood cancer in old age. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature.
During the research, scientists analyzed blood plasma samples of healthy people of different ages and leukemia patients. They found that with age, the intestinal mucosa becomes more permeable, and the number of gram-negative bacteria that produce a special sugar, ADP-heptose, increases in the intestines.
Further experiments showed that ADP-heptose acts as a signal that stimulates the proliferation of dormant blood cells that precede leukemia.
Leukemia is the collective name of a group of malignant processes in which the hematopoietic process in the bone marrow is disrupted. As a result, a large number of immature leukocytes enter the blood, which cannot cope with their main function of protecting the body from infections.
The causes of leukemia are not fully understood, but it is known that it often affects people over the age of 65. According to scientists, it is the increased permeability of the intestinal mucosa that allows ADP-heptose to enter the blood and provoke the development of leukemia in the elderly.
The researchers also found that the receptor protein ALPK1, which is present in the mutant hematopoietic cells, is needed to initiate the growth of pre-leukemic cells. They hypothesized that blocking this receptor could stop the development of leukemia even when the intestinal barrier is weakened.
Translation by Euromedia24.com
