A new study has revealed that a yeast-derived food supplement may help boost the immune system's ability to fight cancer, after it improved the performance of immune cells in obese mice.
Researchers from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Dublin (UCD) have found that a dietary supplement containing the yeast compound beta-glucan can help the body produce immune cells that are more effective at fighting cancer.
The study showed that adding the supplement to the diet of obese mice led to changes in the way immune cells developed, helping to create cells that were more able to fight tumor growth.
Obesity is a factor that affects the efficiency of the immune system, reducing its ability to fight infections and tumors, and some of the effects of this impairment may persist even after weight loss. The study's findings suggest that yeast beta-glucan may be a promising dietary approach to supporting immune function; however, confirming its effectiveness in humans requires clinical trials.
During the experiments, researchers fed mice either a normal diet or a high-fat diet supplemented with yeast beta-glucan for periods ranging from four to 12 weeks. Afterward, they tested the mice's immune systems' ability to cope with various types of cancer, including colorectal, skin, and breast cancer.
Dr. Anna Ledwyth, a postdoctoral researcher and the study's lead author, said the team sought to find out if yeast beta-glucan was able to reprogram early immune cells in the bone marrow, leading to stronger and more sustained anti-tumor immune responses.
She added that the study also tested the supplement's ability to overcome the immune dysfunction associated with obesity, and to see if its protective effects persisted after weight loss.
The results showed that the dietary intervention helped restore anti-tumor immune activity in obese mice and also alleviated some of the long-term immune memory deficits that can persist after weight loss, a problem that represents an important medical challenge.
The team explained that these findings pave the way for nutritional intervention studies in humans, particularly in individuals with obesity, chronic inflammation, or weakened immune systems. Furthermore, the yeast beta-glucan used in the study, known as Wellmune™, is commercially available as a dietary supplement, which could expedite future clinical trials.
The researchers indicated that this type of supplement may become an adjunct to current cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy, in the future, in addition to its potential role in improving the body's response to vaccines and enhancing its resistance to infection.
The study's findings were published in the journal Cell Reports.
