“That T cells are not inhibited by this compound, that is the miracle” that may allow the drug to become a cancer treatment, says biochemist Stefan Kempa of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. An updated version of a bacteria-derived compound called DON could block cancer cells from using glutamine (which is important for metabolism) without the severe side effects of its 1950s predecessor, researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore have found. The study, published online today by Nature Communications, shows that an enzyme produced by bacteria can be used to prevent cancer cell growth and spread through normal cells. In addition, T cells—important in destroying cancer cells—were able to switch to alternative sources of raw materials, whereas tumour cells could not.
An updated version of a bacteria-derived compound called DON could block cancer cells from using glutamine (which is important for metabolism) without the severe side effects of its 1950s predecessor, researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore have found. The study, published online today by Nature Communications, shows that an enzyme produced by bacteria can be used to prevent cancer cell growth and spread through normal cells. In addition, T cells—important in destroying cancer cells—were able to switch to alternative sources of raw materials, whereas tumour cells could not.