Nordic Life Science 1
SCIENCE // STEM CELLS “Once these metastatic cell
s were identified, we were able to compare them with non-metastatic cells and we saw something surprising: these cells have a very high dependence on lipids, especially saturated fats, as an energy source.” by other external mutagenic factors such as alcohol, tobacco, pollution, or chronic inflammatory processes that can be influenced by diet (for example an excess of saturated fats) and by stress. The importance of epigenetics DNA is enormous, almost two meters long if stretched out, and is tightly packed within a cell. This packaging is carried out by histones, proteins whose configuration determines which genes are more or less active. T M his organization is dynamic and greatly influenced by the environment: diet, exercise, stress, or infections. The body "records" these experiences as a kind of biological memory. Epigenetics doesn’t change the DNA sequence, but the way it is organized and expressed, explains Aznar Benitah. “One interesting example is the research showing how the diet and health status of parents before pregnancy can influence their children. This isn’t direct genetics, but rather epigenetic effects. And it has been observed, for example, in the descendants of people who lived through famines or situations of extreme stress, such as World War II, where there is a greater predisposition to metabolic diseases,” Aznar Benitah says, and adds: “Today we are seeing something else worrying: an increase in diseases like fatty liver in adolescents, which used to be common at much older ages. This is not only explained by current diets or sedentary lifestyles, but also by inherited epigenetic factors. Epigenetics doesn't act alone: it can predispose someone, but lifestyle remains key. Two siblings may share this predisposition, but if one exercises and has healthy habits and the other doesn't, the outcome can be very different.” Metastasis and therapeutic strategies Aznar Benitah and his team identified a key aspect within the primary tumor in cancers such as breast, colon, or skin cancer: not all cells are the same. Only a small subgroup of them is responsible for initiating metastasis. etastasis is not a random process. It involves certain cells leaving the original tumor, traveling through the body, and colonizing other organs. It is an extremely complex process, almost as if a cell were able to "migrate" and establish a new tumor in another location. “Once these metastatic cells were identified, we were able to compare them with non-metastatic cells and we saw something surprising: these cells have a very high dependence on lipids, especially saturated fats, as an energy source,” he says, and explains this further. “The process of metastasis can be understood with an analogy: it’s as if you and I decided to run to New York, about 7,000 km, and upon arriving, without being exhausted, NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG | 63