Columbia (Missouri, US): While previous studies have linked commercial dietary supplements such as nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of vitamin B3, to benefits related to cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological health, new research from the University of Missouri focuses on imaging. Focused technology in an animal model has found that NR has the ability to increase the spread of a particular form of cancer and its metastasis to the brain. An international team of researchers led by Elena Gaon, an associate professor of chemistry at MU, developed a novel imaging probe based on ultrasensitive bioluminescent imaging to better understand NR uptake. They applied this test to identify specific cancers that have high amounts of NR, such as triple-negative breast cancer (TBNC).
The study results also provided information that NR supplementation may increase the spread of cancer and spread to the brain. These findings have not been studied in humans, said Gaun, who is the study’s corresponding author. Gaun explained that like most other studies on the beneficial effects of NR supplementation, this study was done in a small animal model. The findings were in agreement with previous work published by several other independent research groups.” Some people take them [vitamins and supplements] Because they automatically assume that vitamins and supplements have only positive health benefits, but have little knowledge of how they actually work. work in the body. Cancer that spreads through the body.
Since NR is a known supplement to help increase cellular energy levels, and cancer cells feed off that type of energy with their increased metabolism, Gaon wanted to investigate the role of NR in cancer biology. The benefits of NR supplements must be weighed against the potential negative side effects. Our work is particularly important given the wide commercial availability and large number of ongoing human clinical trials where NR is used to reduce the side effects of cancer therapy in patients,” he said.
The researchers used imaging techniques to compare and examine how much NR levels were present in cancer cells, T cells and healthy tissue. It’s a black box of how NR works – it’s not understood,” said Gaun. “So it inspired us to come up with this new imaging technology based on ultrasensitive bioluminescent imaging, which can non-invasively capture real Allows quantification of NR levels in time. The presence of NR is shown with light, and the brighter the light. , more NR is present.”
Gon said the study’s findings emphasize the importance of carefully examining the potential side effects of supplements such as NR before using them in people with a wide variety of health conditions. In the future, Gowan would like to provide information that could potentially lead to the development of certain inhibitors, which could help make cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, more effective in treating cancer. The key to this approach, Gaon said, is to look at it from an individual medicine perspective. “Many times cancers can change their metabolism before or after chemotherapy as well.”
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