Microbial metabolite enhances immunotherapy efficacy by modulating T cell stemness in pan-cancer. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38490195/)

These scientists found that certain bacteria in our gut can help our immune system fight against cancer. They discovered that a specific type of bacteria called Lactobacillus johnsonii is linked to how well a type of cancer treatment called immunotherapy works.

The scientists also found that when they added more of this bacteria or a substance called indole-3-propionic acid (IPA) to the treatment, it made the immune system's response even stronger. They figured out that Lactobacillus johnsonii works together with another bacteria called Clostridium sporogenes to produce IPA, which helps a specific type of immune cell called CD8(+) T cells become better at fighting cancer.

By making these immune cells more effective, the treatment can work better against different types of cancer, like melanoma, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. This study shows that by understanding how these bacteria and substances interact with our immune system, we can improve cancer treatments in the future.

Jia D., Wang Q., Qi Y., Jiang Y., He J., Lin Y., Sun Y., Xu J., Chen W., Fan L., Yan R., Zhang W., Ren G., Xu C., Ge Q., Wang L., Liu W., Xu F., Wu P., Wang Y., Chen S., Wang L. Microbial metabolite enhances immunotherapy efficacy by modulating T cell stemness in pan-cancer. Cell. 2024 Mar 11:S0092-8674(24)00224-1. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.02.022.