This is evident from a recent study published in Nature's Signal transduction and targeted therapy scientists have assessed the therapeutic potential and molecular mechanisms by which nutritional interventions influence a wide range of human diseases, such as cardiovascular, autoimmune, neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases, as well as cancer.
Background
Diet and nutrition play a fundamental role in human health, with the quantity, composition and quality of the diet, as well as the timing of meals, being important determinants of nutrient availability, which in turn regulate physiological processes.
Recent research has also focused on understanding how diet influences the disease trajectory. However, there is still a lack of information on the impact of specific dietary components on disease prevention or risk.
Results from several epidemiological studies have shown that specific dietary patterns modulate the risk of several diseases, including cancer.
Although diets high in sugars and saturated fats have been found to increase the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, diets consisting largely of vegetables, fruits and fiber are thought to lower the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease.
Similarly, diets high in processed meat and alcohol are thought to increase the risk of cancer, but the Mediterranean diet is thought to lower the risk of carcinogenesis.
Tumor metabolic pathways and nutrient availability
The researchers assessed existing knowledge about the differences in nutritional requirements and metabolic pathways between the tumor microenvironment and surrounding healthy tissues.
The immunosuppressive environment in tumors results from the cancer cells depriving the immune cells of essential metabolites such as oxygen and glucose, while increasing the levels of adenosine, lactase and other mediators that further reduce the function of the immune cells.
The metabolic reprogramming that occurs in the tumor microenvironment affects different subsets of immune cells.
The major metabolic pathways in immune cells that are thought to be reprogrammed within the tumor microenvironment include the tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, oxidative phosphorylation, the amino acid pathway, and fatty acid synthesis.
The review examined each of these pathways in terms of the changes in nutritional requirements and metabolic characteristics in the tumor microenvironment.
Dietary interventions and cancer
The impact of nutritional interventions on diseases, including cancer, can be better deciphered with a thorough understanding of the metabolic pathways of macronutrients such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
Systemic metabolism can be modulated by regulating macronutrient intake and influencing the metabolic pathways used by these macronutrients.
Special diets such as ketogenic diets, calorie restriction diets, high-fat diets, fasting-mimicking diets and even high-salt diets, as well as dietary restrictions, are based on the concept of systemic metabolism changes through modulations of macronutrient intake.
The review discussed these different dietary interventions in detail and provided a comprehensive summary of the molecular mechanisms by which specific diets influence clinical outcomes in patients with cancer.
The researchers also reviewed studies that evaluated the role of dietary factors in cancer treatment, specifically the use of nutritional interventions to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy and other cancer treatments.
Calorie restriction has been shown to increase T cell response to immunotherapy. In contrast, the use of calorie restriction mimetics has improved the effectiveness of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Calorie restriction has also been shown to be effective in modulating the tumor microenvironment in combination with radiotherapy for cases of triple-negative breast cancer.
The review comprehensively analyzed findings from several studies that examined the effectiveness of specific dietary restrictions in combination with various cancer therapies in modulating the tumor microenvironment.
The scientists also discussed the changes induced in the gut microbiome by nutritional interventions and the effectiveness of changes in the gut microbiome in combination with cancer therapy.
Studies have shown that changes in the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome due to dietary interventions alter the levels of metabolites derived from the microbiota that directly influence antitumor activity.
Dietary interventions and other diseases
The review also discussed the role of nutritional interventions in preventing or slowing, or sometimes even inducing, the progression of cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic and autoimmune diseases.
They investigated the link between nutrient availability, dietary patterns and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and Huntington's disease, among others.
The impact of nutritional interventions on autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis was also addressed in this review.
Conclusion
Overall, the findings from this review show that nutritional interventions play an important role in human health and disease, with some interventions, alone or in combination with other therapies, slowing the progression of diseases such as cancer or improving the efficacy of treatment methods . and others increase the risk of various diseases.
