Common Vitamin Found to Enhance Cancer Tumor Growth 0 13

Scientists have discovered that vitamin B2 (riboflavin), essential for the normal functioning of the body, can simultaneously help cancer cells survive. The study showed that the metabolism of this vitamin protects tumor cells from a specific form of programmed cell death — ferroptosis. The work is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology (NCB).

Ferroptosis is a mechanism of cell death triggered by the accumulation of oxidative damage in the presence of iron. Typically, it helps the body eliminate damaged or dangerous cells. However, cancer cells are capable of enhancing protective systems to avoid such "self-destruction."

Researchers found that derivatives of vitamin B2 support the function of the FSP1 protein, which protects cells from ferroptosis. When riboflavin levels decreased, tumor cells became significantly more vulnerable and died more easily. This led scientists to consider that blocking vitamin B2 metabolism could be a new approach to cancer therapy.

In search of a way to bypass the protection of tumor cells, scientists turned their attention to roseoflavin — a substance produced by certain bacteria. Structurally, it resembles vitamin B2, allowing it to "embed" itself in the same biochemical processes within the cell. However, unlike real riboflavin, roseoflavin disrupts the protective system that helps cancer cells evade ferroptosis.

Laboratory experiments revealed that even small doses of this substance deprive tumor cells of protection and trigger their death. According to the authors of the study, such compounds could serve as the basis for new targeted anti-tumor drugs.