MADRID, 10 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A common skin fungus, Malassezia globosa, can invade deep tissues through the skin or by other means and then cause tumor growth, according to a new study. The results of the study are published in ‘mBio’, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, by Hebei University in China.
“It is important to take care of the skin not only for beauty, but also for health,” said corresponding study author Qi-Ming Wang, professor at the School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Sciences and Green Development at Hebei University. “As a factor that promotes tumor growth, more attention needs to be paid to intertumor microorganisms.”
Recently, an increasing number of studies have shown a link between fungi and cancer. In the new study, Wang and colleagues subjected mouse breast cancer cells to tumor transplantation and then injected M. globosa into the fat pad of the mammary gland. At the end of the experiment, they collected the tumor tissue to measure tumor size and observe the intertumoral M. globosa content.
The researchers found that M. globosa colonizes mammary fat pads, leading to tumor growth. As a lipophilic yeast, the mammary fat pad may provide an external source of lipids for the development of M. globosa , the researchers say. They also found that the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-17a/macrophage axis plays a key role in the mechanisms involved in the acceleration of M. globosa-induced breast cancer.
Although still controversial, the relationship between microbes and cancer is gaining attention. “The imbalance of microflora in the tumor may lead to a disorder in the tumor microenvironment,” Wang comments. “For example, Helicobacter pylori emerged as a potential cause of gastric cancer. In addition, Fusobacterium nucleatum has been identified as a possible biomarker of colorectal cancer in stool and is predominantly found in the tumor microenvironment.
Bacteria or fungi may play a direct (e.g., toxins) or indirect (e.g., inhibition of antitumor immune responses) role in the tumorigenic pathways of many of these risk factors. Disturbance of microbial homeostasis in tumors has some significance for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.”
According to Wang, although researchers found that M. globosa can promote tumor growth, the related transmission route is still unclear.
