[...] a worldwide collaboration involving more than 40 scientists and three hospitals led by researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys has demonstrated a causal link between the gut microbiome and the immune system's ability to fight cancer. Together, the researchers identified a cocktail of 11 bacterial strains that activated the immune system and slowed the growth of melanoma in mice.
[...] Transferring these 11 bacterial strains to regular mice that lack intestinal bacteria (germ-free) induced anti-tumor immune response and slowed tumor growth.
To confirm that the results were relevant in human disease, the scientists obtained tissue samples from three cohorts of people with metastatic melanoma who subsequently received checkpoint inhibitor treatment. Indeed, reduced expression of UPR components (sXBP1, ATF4 and BiP) correlated with responsiveness to treatment, suggesting that there are potentially predictive biomarkers for the selection of patients who should receive immune checkpoint therapy.
Is there any limit to what poo can do?
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 03 2019, @03:12PM (5 children)
These mice were germ-free, then they exposed them to bacteria which activated the immune system.
So the activated immune system slowed tumor growth. This has been known a long time. You need to be pretty ignorant to research cancer and not be aware of this.
Even my friend who ties a copper wire to his arm and runs it out the window to the ground while he sleeps knows about the old (~1900) experiments with injecting bacteria into someone to slow tumor growth.
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Wednesday April 03 2019, @09:29PM (1 child)
"Even my friend who ties a copper wire to his arm and runs it out the window to the ground while he sleeps "
To be fair, he is sleeping on top of a skyscraper.
Right?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 04 2019, @02:31AM
A one-floor shotgun house.
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Thursday April 04 2019, @03:34AM (2 children)
There is increasing evidence that the gut is the control system for more body regulatory systems that has been thought. Mental stress and gut symptoms have long been known to have a link (thus the stress=ulcers thing) but it may be that gut microbiome problems upset the regulation that would prevent or tone down the mental symptoms we think of as stress. Our gut & symbiotes appear to have roles that aren't fully understood yet.
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Thursday April 04 2019, @03:36AM
I should have mentioned - a Dr Perlmutter has been stumping for the gut/brain connection idea for some time. Some of his assertions agree with my experience with auto-immune issues, though I've no way to know if he is right about the underlying mechanisms.
(Score: 3, Informative) by urza9814 on Thursday April 04 2019, @12:21PM
Stress causing ulcers is a myth -- the true cause is generally an infection:
https://www.livescience.com/50374-easter-helicobacter-pylori-discovery.html [livescience.com]