Food poisoning bacteria may help fight cancer

Salmonella is often associated with food poisoning, but recently, scientists have discovered a special use for this bacteria: it helps fight colon cancer.

A recent study found that salmonella can be modified to help T cells - a type of white blood cell that protects the body from infection and disease - kill cancer cells . Scientists found that salmonella can be modified to work with the human immune system to help T cells attack cancer cells. The results of the study were published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine on November 19. Further research on this issue will be conducted in the future.

Salmonella bacteria. (Photo: CDC).

Experts have long known about the cancer-fighting potential of salmonella. However, its use in treatment has not been as effective as expected. Although bacterial treatments can limit the growth of cancer cells by preventing them from absorbing important nutrients, they also affect the immune system, which plays a key role in fighting tumors.

The team found in mice that salmonella stops T cells from fighting cancer because it depletes an amino acid called asparagine . They realized that asparagine is important for T cells, said Kendle Maslowski, a scientist at the University of Glasgow who worked on the study. And Maslowski said that with this discovery, scientists could tweak salmonella so that it doesn't deplete asparagine, allowing T cells to attack cancer cells, leading to new effective treatments.

The discovery could turn disease-causing bacteria such as salmonella into cancer fighters, said study author Alastair Copland at the University of Birmingham.

Catherine Elliott at Cancer Research UK, which funded the research, said it was an exciting development and could lead to effective treatments for patients with colon or other cancers in the future.

Salmonella can live in the intestines of many animals, such as chickens, cows, and pigs. It can be present on foods such as eggs, chicken, pork, fruits, and vegetables that have come into contact with livestock or their feces.

People infected with salmonella often have symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and can last from 4-7 days.