Tool to predict the impact of diets on cancerous & healthy cells

A tool was developed by researchers to forecast the impact of various dietary plans on both cancerous and healthy cells.

The researchers’ tool could aid in identifying the specific metabolic changes caused by different types of nutrients, potentially leading to a better understanding of the relationship between diet and disease. The tool could also help researchers to understand how cancer cells alter their metabolism to promote survival and growth.

They found specific changes in metabolism associated with unhealthy diets, which were seen to promote the production of glycerol and succinate in both cancerous and healthy tissues. They also observed that the differences in metabolism between healthy and cancerous cells were highest in the context of an unhealthy diet, suggesting that tumours are able to better exploit unhealthy diets to promote survival and growth.

In the study, the researchers discovered specific changes in metabolism associated with unhealthy diets that were found to enhance the production of glycerol and succinate in both cancerous and healthy tissues. They also observed that the variations in metabolism between healthy and cancerous cells were most pronounced when the mice were on an unhealthy diet. This suggests that tumors are more effective at utilizing unhealthy diets to promote survival and growth.

By using experimental data from the lab, the model allows us to start understanding the complex metabolic changes that happen in tissues due to specific nutrients in the diet.

Dimitrios Anastasiou, head of the Crick’s Cancer Metabolism Laboratory, said: “We know that poor diet wreaks havoc in our body’s metabolism. It can cause obesity and promote liver disease, which, in turn, can progress to liver cancer. We want to understand which nutrients in our diets, and in what combinations, drive these detrimental outcomes.”

The team then modelled the effects of a change in dietary components – from healthy to unhealthy, and unhealthy to healthy – in various combinations. They observed that, although some cancer-specific metabolic functions persisted on healthy diets, they could also reverse many of them, but only when both fats and carbohydrates were limited.

Frederick Clasen, first author and PhD student jointly at the Crick and King’s College London, said: “The potential applications of this work are far reaching. We can now see which changes in diet actually impact cell metabolism, and which have very little effect because the cells are already programmed to draw missing nutrients from their surroundings.

The researchers are working to improve the accuracy of their model’s predictions by creating more advanced models of metabolism that consider how different organs interact and exchange metabolites, and how gut bacteria affect nutrient availability to tissues. By using experimental data from the lab, the model allows us to start understanding the complex metabolic changes that happen in tissues due to specific nutrients in the diet. This approach could be used to help direct dietary changes that complement treatments for various illnesses. The ultimate benefit of this understanding will be in disease prevention, by enabling us to make more informed food choices.

The Francis Crick Institute is a biomedical discovery institute dedicated to understanding the fundamental biology underlying health and disease. Its work is helping to understand why disease develops and to translate discoveries into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, infections, and neurodegenerative diseases.

An independent organisation, its founding partners are the Medical Research Council (MRC), Cancer Research UK, Wellcome, UCL (University College London), Imperial College London and King’s College London.

The Crick was formed in 2015, and in 2016 it moved into a brand new state-of-the-art building in central London which brings together 1500 scientists and support staff working collaboratively across disciplines, making it the biggest biomedical research facility under a single roof in Europe. 

King’s College London is one of the top 35 universities in the world and amongst the top 10 in Europe (QS World University Rankings 2022), and one of England’s oldest and most prestigious universities. With an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research, King’s maintained its sixth position for ‘research power’ in the UK (2021 Research Excellence Framework). 

King’s vision is to make the world a better place through world-leading education, research and service to society. A King’s education enables students to become rounded critical thinkers, set up for success and with the character and wisdom to strive for social change. Through enquiry-driven research, King’s delivers transformative insights and solutions that have the power to advance and accelerate global progress. By serving the needs and aspirations of society, King’s students, staff and alumni unite within and beyond King’s to build a better world for us all.