Molecular cell: shock! Common joint supplements can promote the growth of melanoma cells!

March 19, 2018 / bioin / - chondroitin sulfate, an oral joint enhancer, promotes the growth of a melanoma, according to a study conducted on cell and mouse models The results will be published in molecular cell Photo source: about half of Wikipedia / cc by-sa 3.0 melanoma has a special mutation called B-Raf gene (V600E) Dr Jing Chen and his colleagues found that chondroitin sulfate promoted the growth of melanoma cells carrying the V600E mutation, but did not promote the growth of other melanoma cells not carrying the mutation Mice with V600E mutant melanoma had similar effects on chondroitin sulfate and human body The V600E mutant mice treated with chondroitin sulfate also developed resistance to verofinib, a B-Raf inhibitor commonly used in the treatment of V600E positive melanoma Although not confirmed in human epidemiological studies, these findings also alert oncologists and patients at increased risk of melanoma to the potential risks of this dietary supplement Chondroitin sulfate is one of the structural components of cartilage It is often recommended to treat osteoarthritis with other compounds such as glucosamine It is likely that some patients with V600E mutation take chondroitin sulfate to accelerate the growth of cancer cells, or patients with V600E positive are likely to increase the risk of recurrence due to taking chondroitin sulfate Chen said he is a professor of Hematology and medical oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University "We are very cautious about these results and we will continue to track them." He said "There is no solid data on the use of supplements, so we should add a consultation on melanoma patients to determine their medication history." He pointed out that a large study conducted in Washington state found that chondroitin sulfate had nothing to do with prostate cancer or lung cancer risk, but the researchers did not test the genetic background Dr Ruiting Lin, a lecturer working with Professor Chen, discovered these effects by assessing different metabolic enzymes to determine whether they are necessary factors for the growth of B-Raf melanoma During Lin's experiment, chondroitin sulfate glucuronosyltransferase (csg1ca-t, CSG) entered her field of vision CSG is very important for the formation of chondroitin sulfate polymer Chen said he and Lin were surprised that they screened out CSG: "we have to go back to the literature to confirm that cells do eat chondroitin sulfate." The study of chondroitin sulfate promoting the growth of melanoma cells reveals a signaling role in cells that scientists have not been familiar with before The researchers found that only chondroitin sulfate in the polymer form, rather than the digested form, affects B-Raf melanoma, which they call a mystery in the article Although their paper has found that CSG is a target of anticancer drugs, there are no compounds that can inhibit this enzyme At the same time, potential inhibitors also need to detect their potential side effects: joint pain or degradation of connective tissue Chen said it's likely that CSG works with other oncogenes His lab has also previously found that a low-carbon ketogenic diet can also accelerate the growth of V600E melanoma cells Reference: Jing Chen et al The daily supply chongqing-4-sulfite exhibits oncogene-specific Pro tumor effects on BRAF V600E melanoma cells Molecular cell (2018) Doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.02.010