Dine on DNA: Compounds from nucleic acids in food show anticancer effects

Specific nucleosides hinder replication of tumor cells in step toward cancer prevention

2024-08-29

(Press-News.org) When people eat, they ingest the nucleic acids that reside in all living things. The compounds in these acids could inhibit the growth of cancer cells, according to findings published in PLOS ONE by Osaka Metropolitan University Associate Professor Akiko Kojima-Yuasa of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology and colleagues.

Consuming nucleic acids found in food has been shown to boost the immune system and prevent some diseases. The nucleotides and nucleosides that result from digesting the acids are largely responsible for these beneficial effects.

Professor Kojima-Yuasa’s team used compounds of nucleic acids derived from salmon milt DNA and torula yeast RNA and showed that chemical compounds like guanosine could prevent the proliferation of certain cancer cells in laboratory rats. The compounds stopped the cells from starting their replication phase.

“Our research provides a new perspective on the physiological functions of nucleic acids derived from food,” Professor Kojima-Yuasa explained. “We hold hope that this will be a crucial step toward cancer prevention.”

###

About OMU
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Dine on DNA: Compounds from nucleic acids in food show anticancer effects 2

Dine on DNA: Compounds from nucleic acids in food show anticancer effects 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

MCG scientists working to understand why men with prostate cancer are at higher risk of Alzheimer’s

2024-08-29

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Aug. 29, 2024) – Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are searching for a better way to understand why many men with prostate cancer end up with Alzheimer’s disease, and whether it’s the standard hormone therapy treatment or an overactive immune response that actually contributes to the problem. The hormone therapy, androgen deprivation therapy, known as ADT, treats the cancer by reducing testosterone, which the cancer needs to grow. But androgen is a key regulator of amyloid metabolism and when it’s removed from the equation, more amyloid is left to form the plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. “We ...

Ancient sea cow attacked by a crocodile and sharks sheds new light on prehistoric food chains

2024-08-29

A new study describing how a prehistoric sea cow was preyed upon by not one, but two different carnivores – a crocodilian and a shark – is revealing clues into both the predation patterns of ancient creatures and the wider food chain millions of years ago. Published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the findings mark one of the few examples of a creature being preyed upon by different animals during the Early to Middle Miocene epoch (23 million to 11.6 million years ago). Predation marks in the skull indicate that the dugongine sea cow, ...

Georgia Tech neuroscientists explore the intersection of music and memory

2024-08-29

By Jerry Grillo The soundtrack of this story begins with a vaguely recognizable and pleasant groove. But if I stop writing and just listen for a second, the music reveals itself completely. In Freddie Hubbard’s comfortable, lilting trumpet solo over Herbie Hancock’s melodic, repetitive piano vamping, I recognize “Cantaloupe Island.” Then, with my fingers again poised at the keyboard, Freddie and Herbie fade into the background, followed by other instrumental music: captivating — but not distracting — sonic nutrition, feeding my concentration and productivity. Somewhere, I think, Yiren Ren is studying, focused on her ...

Waging war on ‘superbugs’ in aged care

2024-08-29

There’s an urgent need for more careful antibiotic management to protect older people living in residential aged care from the dangerous spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria or ‘superbugs’, researchers from Flinders University and SAHMRI warn. A new study published in the well-respected Journal of Infection, explores the link between the widespread use of antibiotics in residential aged care and the resulting antibiotic resistant bacteria in the gut that can be passed on to other residents. “Commonly ...

Increasing risk of synthetic opioid drug overdoses in Australia

2024-08-29

A recent study has uncovered alarming insights into the dangers posed by fentanyl-contaminated drug supplies in Australia, including a heightened risk of lethal overdose. The study, titled ‘The gear could be cut with fentanyl which is starting to happen more in Australia’: Exploring Overdose Survivors’ Perspectives on Toxic Supply and Safe Consumption, aimed to explore the role of synthetic opioids in overdoses among Queenslanders. Led by Griffith University’s Dr Timothy Piatkowski, Emma Kill and Steph Reeve in partnership with the Queensland ...

Protein mutant stability can be inferred from AI-predicted structures

2024-08-29

Researchers at the Center for Algorithmic and Robotized Synthesis within the Institute for Basic Science have taken a significant step forward in understanding the stability of proteins by leveraging the power of AI. The research team used AlphaFold2 to explore how mutations affect protein stability—a crucial factor in ensuring proteins function correctly and do not cause diseases like Alzheimer's. DeepMind’s AlphaFold algorithm, which can accurately predict a protein’s structure from ...

Shedding light on the mechanism of yeast DNA repair

2024-08-29

DNA damage is a cellular phenomenon that introduces structural abnormalities in double-stranded DNA. External factors, such as radiation or chemical agents, as well as internal factors, such as blocked DNA replication, can generate double-strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA. To counteract DNA damage, cells engage in DNA repair to preserve genetic integrity and ensure cell survival as failure to repair DSBs has serious health complications like increased risk of cancer. DSBs are repaired by two mechanisms called non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). NHEJ is the predominant DNA repair mechanism in human somatic cells and is ...

Improvement of durability of membrane electrode assembly by frame sealing structure in temperature shock

2024-08-29

Fuel cells offer a promising solution for clean energy with advantages over traditional electric power systems, including extended driving range and higher energy density. Despite these benefits, the high costs and durability concerns associated with fuel cell stacks have limited their commercialization. The durability of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), a key component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), is particularly affected by the frame sealing structure, which is often overlooked in research. The study, conducted by Tiankuo Chu ...

Rare earth single atoms enhance manganese oxide's electrochemical oxygen evolution

2024-08-29

An international group of researchers has developed a novel approach that enhances the efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a key process in renewable energy technologies. By introducing rare earth single atoms into manganese oxide (MnO2), the group successfully modulated oxygen electronic states, leading to unprecedented improvements in OER performance. Their findings were published in the journal Nano Energy on June 10, 2024. Transition-metal-based oxides have been widely explored for their potential as active OER catalysts. However, the capacity of these catalysts is hindered by the adsorbate evolution mechanism, which ...

Gria: An efficient deterministic concurrency control protocol

2024-08-29

The concurrency control in deterministic databases, i.e., deterministic concurrency control, ensures that each transaction batch produces a unique result. In this way, replicas can process transactions in batches without communicating with each other to ensure consistency, which is simpler and more efficient than non-deterministic databases in achieving high availability through replication. Early deterministic concurrency control protocols, e.g. Calvin, Bohm, PWV, rely on the prior knowledge of the read-write set, which is impractical in most scenarios. The state-of-the-art Ari breaks this limitation. However, Aria has three issues. First, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Depression linked to physical pain years later

Beyond ‘one size fits all’: Study reveals ethnic differences in breast cancer development and outcomes, demanding tailored care approaches

The Online Journal of Public Health Informatics invites submissions on opportunities and challenges in the applications of AI in public health informatics