Dietary change tagged posts

Laboratory research finds a low-protein diet can enhance standard treatment for colon cancer. A dietary change could be a key to enhancing colon cancer treatment, a new study from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center finds.

Cancer cells need nutrients to survive and grow. One of the most important nutrient sensing molecules in a cell is called mTORC1. Often called a master regulator of cell growth, it allows cells to sense different nutrients and thereby grow and proliferate. When nutrients are limited, cells dial down nutrient sensing cascade and turn off mTORC1.

While mTORC1 is known to be hyperactive in colon cancer, the k...

Wu et al. combine gnotobiotic mice colonized with defined collections of sequenced human gut bacteria with a method for performing whole genome transposon (Tn) mutagenesis to simultaneously identify bacterial genes required for the survival/success of different community members under different dietary conditions. Their analysis yielded a prebiotic that was used to deliberately change the representation of a prominent community member. Their approach has general utility for defining the resource requirements (niches) of microbial citizens of complex communities and for developing new ways for manipulating the properties of these communities. Credit: Laura Kyro

An international team of researchers working at the Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri has identified several g...