Cancer Therapies Use a Little Help From Microbial Friends

摘要

Outnumbering our own cells more than 10 to one, the microbes thriving peacefully in the human body do more than make up for the warmth and shelter we provide. They make us healthy, helping to tune up our immune systems and keep our digestive systems humming. Now, in two papers on pages 967 and 971, investigators show that our microbial guests may also aid in the treatment of disease. The studies show that in mice, gut bacteria bolster the effects of three antitumor regimens. In each case, when a mouse's microbial residents are missing, the treatments are far less effective. "The bacteria are demonstrated to be critical," says Matthew Redinbo, a structural biologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who in 2010 showed a bacterial enzyme could limit the toxicity of a cancer drug. "[These are] insights that further deepen our appreciation of mammalian-microbial symbiosis."