Salmonella could be engineered to help fight bowel cancer after research found the bacteria stops the body’s own immune cells attacking the disease.
Experts have long known that salmonella – which can cause food poisoning – could help beat cancer, but when used in therapies it has not been as effective as hoped.
But now, a study has discovered that salmonella could be engineered to allow T cells – a type of white blood cell that protects the body from infection and disease – to kill cancer cells.
Using mice, the team of researchers found that salmonella typically stops T cells from fighting cancer cells as it depletes an amino acid called asparagine.
Dr Alastair Copland, first author of the study and research fellow in immunology at the University of Birmingham, said the research could “turn a disease-causing bug like salmonella into one that combats cancer”.
He said: “One longstanding mystery has been why T cells, which are key to fighting cancer, don’t function optimally during this treatment.
“Now, we’ve identified the protein responsible for this, and pinpointed an exciting genetic target that could help us unleash the full potential of this therapy.”
Dr Catherine Elliott, director of research at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, said the research is an “exciting” development and could lead to “more effective treatments for patients with colorectal, and other cancers in the future, providing hope for patients”.
There are more than 44,000 new cases of bowel cancer each year in the UK, making it the fourth most common.
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Salmonella can be present in the guts of many animals, including chickens, cows and pigs.
It can contaminate food like eggs, chicken and pork, as well as fruits and vegetables that have been in contact with livestock or manure.
If infected, symptoms of a salmonella include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever, and usually develop within 12 to 72 hours and last from four to seven days.
The study was published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.
