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Colon Cancer Linked to Mouth Bacteria

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Monday, April 15, 2024

Colon Cancer Linked to Mouth BacteriaGenomic research of Fusobacterium nucleatum isolated from colon cancer tumors may help researchers develop future screening tests and cancer vaccinesBy Maggie ChenKateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty ImagesA healthy colon is a marvelously effective organ that squeezes nutrients and water out of food while pumping out waste. But sometimes small clumps of abnormal cells grow on the colon’s lining and turn into cancer. Colon cancer is relatively common but tricky to catch; it can only be confirmed with a colonoscopy or surgery. And a recent, so-far-unexplained rise in colon cancer rates among younger people has ramped up urgency in learning more about how the disease works—and how to prevent it.Pinning down colon cancer’s genetic or environmental causes has been a complex and long-running quest, but a new study in Nature points to a promising clue: a bacterium typically found in the human mouth. The study found that a specific subtype, or clade, within a subspecies of Fusobacterium nucleatum was linked to colon cancer growth and progression. These results, the study authors say, could lead to better noninvasive diagnostic methods for colon cancer and could even suggest new therapies targeting these bacteria for tumor elimination.F. nucleatum, associated with dental plaque and gingivitis, occurs naturally in the mouth microbiome. A decade ago scientists discovered that the bacterium was also found in colon cancer more often than in normal colon tissue. “This was particularly interesting because this microbe in noncancerous individuals is usually not present below the [mouth],” says the new study’s co-senior author Susan Bullman, a biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.To further explore the microbe’s relationship to colon cancer, Bullman and her colleagues conducted extensive sequencing on F. nucleatum within colon cancer tumors and looked at how the microbe influenced the intestinal environment. The team first analyzed the genomes of F. nucleatum found in colon tumors in order to compare them with those found in the mouth. It collected colon tumors from approximately 100 people and then broke up the tumors and placed them on agar plates to allow the microbes present to grow.After isolating the F. nucleatum from these cultures, the scientists performed a process called long-read sequencing to get a comprehensive look at the bacterium’s genome. Most traditional sequencing methods rely on what scientists call “short reads”—which is like “assembling a puzzle where you’re not able to get the whole picture,” says the study’s first author, Martha Zepeda-Rivera. “With long-read sequencing, it’s like taking a picture with your camera, where you get the entire picture.”The team compared these sequences from the colon cancer tissues with those of F. nucleatum from the mouth of healthy individuals. This revealed two main clades within a subspecies (called F. nucleatum animalis) that were distinguished by differences in DNA bases and patterns of encoded proteins. Bacteria in the two clades also had distinct appearances under the microscope: specimens in the second clade were longer and thinner than those from the first.F. nucleatum animalis from the colon tumors fell overwhelmingly into the second clade. This clade’s genomes seemed to code for characteristics that would help the bacteria survive the perilous journey from the mouth to the intestine—such as the ability to gain nutrients in hostile environments (such as an inflamed gastrointestinal tract) or to better invade cells. These microbes also have “one of the most potent acid-resistant systems” found in bacteria, which lets them tolerate the stomach’s acidic environment, explains Christopher Johnston, a geneticist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and co-senior author of the study.The findings suggested that the microbes in the second clade were more strongly associated with colon cancer, leading the researchers to explore further how these microbes interacted with the intestine in a mouse model. They gave one group of mice a single oral dose of F. nucleatum animalis from clade 1 and another a dose of clade 2 and then counted the number of tumors that formed. Mice in the clade 2 group developed a significantly higher number of large intestinal tumors in comparison with those given clade 1 bacteria or a nonbacterial control.When the scientists measured metabolic molecules inside tumors from the mice with clade 2 bacteria, they found more molecules associated with cellular damage from oxidative stress, cancer cell division and inflammation than mice in the control and clade 1 bacteria groups. “This supports the idea that clade 2 bacteria are contributing to this proinflammatory, pro-oncogenic environment,” Zepeda-Rivera says.Identifying the F. nucleatum variant linked to colon cancer provides helpful insight into its role in disease development, says Shuji Ogino, a Harvard Medical School pathologist, who was not involved with the new study. He notes, though, that more evidence from a larger group of people with colon cancer is needed, as well as more research to see how exactly the bacteria might contribute to inflammation and cancer progression.The study’s findings might also help in the search for a low-cost, noninvasive strategy to identify people at higher risk for colon cancer, says Cynthia Sears, a biologist at Johns Hopkins University, who peer-reviewed the study. “We need an approach that enables us to zero in on people with higher risk,” she adds. Sears says a test could be developed to simply screen for the presence of this bacteria with a mouth swab or stool sample; clade 2 bacteria were found to be more prevalent in fecal samples from those with colon cancer, too.In addition to diagnostic tools to predict cancer progression, Bullman, Johnston and Zepeda-Rivera also envision developing a vaccine against the F. nucleatum animalis in clade 2. This approach would be similar to that used with the human papillomavirus vaccine, which targets specific virus subtypes that are most linked to disease.The study authors say the new findings are an exciting and important step in learning how these microbes can be leveraged to tackle colon cancer. “These results are like a roadmap since we’ve identified the specific clade in tumors,” Johnston says. “And now we’ve outlined the differences that can be investigated moving forward.”

Genomic research of Fusobacterium nucleatum isolated from colon cancer tumors may help researchers develop future screening tests and cancer vaccines

Colon Cancer Linked to Mouth Bacteria

Genomic research of Fusobacterium nucleatum isolated from colon cancer tumors may help researchers develop future screening tests and cancer vaccines

By Maggie Chen

Computer illustration of orange worm like bacteria on green background.

Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

A healthy colon is a marvelously effective organ that squeezes nutrients and water out of food while pumping out waste. But sometimes small clumps of abnormal cells grow on the colon’s lining and turn into cancer. Colon cancer is relatively common but tricky to catch; it can only be confirmed with a colonoscopy or surgery. And a recent, so-far-unexplained rise in colon cancer rates among younger people has ramped up urgency in learning more about how the disease works—and how to prevent it.

Pinning down colon cancer’s genetic or environmental causes has been a complex and long-running quest, but a new study in Nature points to a promising clue: a bacterium typically found in the human mouth. The study found that a specific subtype, or clade, within a subspecies of Fusobacterium nucleatum was linked to colon cancer growth and progression. These results, the study authors say, could lead to better noninvasive diagnostic methods for colon cancer and could even suggest new therapies targeting these bacteria for tumor elimination.

F. nucleatum, associated with dental plaque and gingivitis, occurs naturally in the mouth microbiome. A decade ago scientists discovered that the bacterium was also found in colon cancer more often than in normal colon tissue. “This was particularly interesting because this microbe in noncancerous individuals is usually not present below the [mouth],” says the new study’s co-senior author Susan Bullman, a biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

To further explore the microbe’s relationship to colon cancer, Bullman and her colleagues conducted extensive sequencing on F. nucleatum within colon cancer tumors and looked at how the microbe influenced the intestinal environment. The team first analyzed the genomes of F. nucleatum found in colon tumors in order to compare them with those found in the mouth. It collected colon tumors from approximately 100 people and then broke up the tumors and placed them on agar plates to allow the microbes present to grow.

After isolating the F. nucleatum from these cultures, the scientists performed a process called long-read sequencing to get a comprehensive look at the bacterium’s genome. Most traditional sequencing methods rely on what scientists call “short reads”—which is like “assembling a puzzle where you’re not able to get the whole picture,” says the study’s first author, Martha Zepeda-Rivera. “With long-read sequencing, it’s like taking a picture with your camera, where you get the entire picture.”

The team compared these sequences from the colon cancer tissues with those of F. nucleatum from the mouth of healthy individuals. This revealed two main clades within a subspecies (called F. nucleatum animalis) that were distinguished by differences in DNA bases and patterns of encoded proteins. Bacteria in the two clades also had distinct appearances under the microscope: specimens in the second clade were longer and thinner than those from the first.

F. nucleatum animalis from the colon tumors fell overwhelmingly into the second clade. This clade’s genomes seemed to code for characteristics that would help the bacteria survive the perilous journey from the mouth to the intestine—such as the ability to gain nutrients in hostile environments (such as an inflamed gastrointestinal tract) or to better invade cells. These microbes also have “one of the most potent acid-resistant systems” found in bacteria, which lets them tolerate the stomach’s acidic environment, explains Christopher Johnston, a geneticist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and co-senior author of the study.

The findings suggested that the microbes in the second clade were more strongly associated with colon cancer, leading the researchers to explore further how these microbes interacted with the intestine in a mouse model. They gave one group of mice a single oral dose of F. nucleatum animalis from clade 1 and another a dose of clade 2 and then counted the number of tumors that formed. Mice in the clade 2 group developed a significantly higher number of large intestinal tumors in comparison with those given clade 1 bacteria or a nonbacterial control.

When the scientists measured metabolic molecules inside tumors from the mice with clade 2 bacteria, they found more molecules associated with cellular damage from oxidative stress, cancer cell division and inflammation than mice in the control and clade 1 bacteria groups. “This supports the idea that clade 2 bacteria are contributing to this proinflammatory, pro-oncogenic environment,” Zepeda-Rivera says.

Identifying the F. nucleatum variant linked to colon cancer provides helpful insight into its role in disease development, says Shuji Ogino, a Harvard Medical School pathologist, who was not involved with the new study. He notes, though, that more evidence from a larger group of people with colon cancer is needed, as well as more research to see how exactly the bacteria might contribute to inflammation and cancer progression.

The study’s findings might also help in the search for a low-cost, noninvasive strategy to identify people at higher risk for colon cancer, says Cynthia Sears, a biologist at Johns Hopkins University, who peer-reviewed the study. “We need an approach that enables us to zero in on people with higher risk,” she adds. Sears says a test could be developed to simply screen for the presence of this bacteria with a mouth swab or stool sample; clade 2 bacteria were found to be more prevalent in fecal samples from those with colon cancer, too.

In addition to diagnostic tools to predict cancer progression, Bullman, Johnston and Zepeda-Rivera also envision developing a vaccine against the F. nucleatum animalis in clade 2. This approach would be similar to that used with the human papillomavirus vaccine, which targets specific virus subtypes that are most linked to disease.

The study authors say the new findings are an exciting and important step in learning how these microbes can be leveraged to tackle colon cancer. “These results are like a roadmap since we’ve identified the specific clade in tumors,” Johnston says. “And now we’ve outlined the differences that can be investigated moving forward.”

Read the full story here.
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50-Million-Year-Old Footprints Open a 'Rare Window' Into the Behaviors of Extinct Animals That Once Roamed in Oregon

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The ant seller says theirs is a “landmark case in the field”. “People travelling to other countries specifically to collect ants and then returning with them is virtually unheard of,” he says.A formicarium at a pet shop in Singapore. Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty ImagesScientists have raised concerns that the burgeoning trade in exotic ants could pose a significant biodiversity risk. “Ants are traded as pets across the globe, but if introduced outside of their native ranges they could become invasive with dire environmental and economic consequences,” researchers conclude in a 2023 paper tracking the ant trade across China. “The most sought-after ants have higher invasive potential,” they write.Removing ants from their ecosystems could also be damaging. Illegal exportation “not only undermines Kenya’s sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits”, says KWS. Dino Martins, an entomologist and evolutionary biologist in Kenya, says harvester ants are among the most important insects on the African savannah, and any trade in them is bound to have negative consequences for the ecology of the grasslands.A Kenyan official arranges the containers of ants at the court. Photograph: Kenya Wildlife Service/AP“Harvester ants are seed collectors, and they gather [the seeds] as food for themselves, storing these in their nests. A single large harvester ant colony can collect several kilos of seeds of various grasses a year. 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Belgian Teenagers Found With 5,000 Ants to Be Sentenced in 2 Weeks

Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks, a Kenyan magistrate said Wednesday.Magistrate Njeri Thuku, sitting at the court in Kenya’s main airport, said she would not rush the case but would take time to review environmental impact and psychological reports filed in court before passing sentence on May 7.Belgian nationals Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19 years old, were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house. They were charged on April 15 with violating wildlife conservation laws.The teens have told the magistrate that they didn’t know that keeping the ants was illegal and were just having fun.The Kenya Wildlife Service had said the case represented “a shift in trafficking trends — from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species.”Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others.The Belgian teens had entered the country on a tourist visa and were staying in a guest house in the western town of Naivasha, popular among tourists for its animal parks and lakes.Their lawyer, Halima Nyakinyua Magairo, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her clients did not know what they were doing was illegal. She said she hoped the Belgian embassy in Kenya could “support them more in this judicial process.”In a separate but related case, Kenyan Dennis Ng’ang’a and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen were charged after they were found in possession of 400 ants in their apartment in the capital, Nairobi.KWS had said all four suspects were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia, and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa.The ants are bought by people who keep them as pets and observe them in their colonies. Several websites in Europe have listed different species of ants for sale at varied prices.The 5,400 ants found with the four men are valued at 1.2 million Kenyan shillings ($9,200), according to KWS.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

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