Vitamin D is not only an essential nutrient, but also the precursor of the hormone calcitriol, indispensable for health: it regulates the uptake of phosphate and calcium necessary for bones by the intestines, as well as cell growth and the proper function of muscles, nerve cells, and the immune system.<\/p>\n
Now, researchers have shown for the first time in Frontiers in Endocrinology that a particular gene, called SDR42E1, is crucial for taking up vitamin D from the gut and further metabolizing it – a discovery with many possible applications in precision medicine, including cancer therapy.<\/p>\n
“Here we show that blocking or inhibiting SDR42E1 may selectively stop the growth of cancer cells,” said Dr Georges Nemer, a professor and associate dean for research at the University of College of Health and Life Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and the study’s corresponding author.<\/p>\n
Faulty copy<\/p>\n
Nemer and colleagues were inspired by earlier research that had found a specific mutation in the SDR42E1 gene on chromosome 16 to be associated with vitamin D deficiency. The mutation caused the protein to be cut short, rendering it inactive.<\/p>\n
The researchers used CRISPR\/Cas9 gene editing to transform the active form of SDR42E1 in a line of cells from a patient with colorectal cancer, called HCT116, into its inactive form. In HCT116 cells, the expression of SDR42E1 is usually abundant, suggesting that the protein is essential for their survival.<\/p>\n
Once the faulty SDR42E1 copy had been introduced, the viability of the cancer cells plummeted by 53%. No fewer than 4,663 ‘downstream’ genes changed their expression levels, suggesting that SDR42E1 is a crucial molecular switch in many reactions necessary for the health of cells. Many of these genes are normally involved in cancer-related cell signaling and the absorption and metabolism of cholesterol-like molecules – consistent with the central role of SDR42E1 in calcitriol synthesis.<\/p>\n
These results suggest that inhibiting the gene can selectively kill cancer cells, while leaving neighboring cells unharmed.<\/p>\n
Cuts two ways<\/p>\n
“Our results open new potential avenues in precision oncology, though clinical translation still requires considerable validation and long-term development,” said Dr Nagham Nafiz Hendi, a professor at Middle East University in Amman, Jordan, and the study’s first author.<\/p>\n
But starving selected cells of vitamin D is not the only possible application that immediately sprang to the mind of the researchers. The present results suggest that SDR42E1 cuts two ways: artificially ‘dialing up’ levels of SDR42E1 in local tissues through gene technology might likewise be beneficial, leveraging the many known health effects of calcitriol.<\/p>\n
“Because SDR42E1 is involved in vitamin D metabolism, we could also target it in any of the many diseases where vitamin D plays a regulatory role,” said Nemer.<\/p>\n
“For example, nutrition studies have indicated that the hormone can lower the risk of cancer, kidney disease, and autoimmune and metabolic disorders.”<\/p>\n
“But such broader applications must be done with caution, as long-term effects of SDR42E1 on vitamin D balance remain to be fully understood,” warned Hendi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vitamin D is not only an essential nutrient, but also the precursor of the hormone calcitriol, indispensable for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[200,20733,79],"class_list":["post-23127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-genetics","tag-kidney-disease-cholesterol-womenamp039s-health-immune-system-diseases-and-conditions-colon-cancer-hormone-disorders-alternative-medicine","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}