A salty diet, which is normally harmful to health, in murine tumor models inhibits tumor growth because it stimulates the activity of the immune system, reports the journal Frontiers in Immunology. Will the research be used in the future?
High salt intake is a known risk factor for high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have also shown that too much salt in the diet can increase the aggressiveness of immune cells, which promotes autoimmune diseases.
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However, although the high-speed immune system does more harm than good to a healthy body, it can find useful employment in the case of cancer.
As suggested by laboratory studies on mouse models, carried out by an international team led by prof. Markus Kleinewietfeld from VIB (Flemish Institute of Biotechnology), high salt intake inhibits tumor growth. The effect appears to be due to an alteration in the functioning of myeloid lineage suppression cells (MDSCs), which play a key role in the fight against cancer. MDSCs suppress the action of other immune cells, but in a salty environment, their inhibitory effects weaken and other types of cells attack the tumor more vigorously. A similar effect of the saline environment on MDSC was also observed when cultured human tumor cells.
According to the authors, further research may improve the results of cancer treatment in a simple and very cheap way. But first, you need to fully understand this effect and the detailed molecular mechanisms. It is known that high salt intake promotes, for example, the development of stomach cancer.