Glutathione, an antioxidant supplement promoted as healthy, may feed cancer cells and accelerate tumors. This was revealed by a study from the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester.
The so-called “master antioxidant” turned out to be vulnerable to catabolism by tumor cells that break it down and use it as an alternative source of nutrients. This favors their growth and survival in low-resource environmentsreviewed Infobae.
This means that the supplement in high doses, instead of protecting, can stimulate tumor progression. For this reason, experts advise being cautious with its consumption.
Likewise, it was known that the discovery was made by the team at the Wilmot Cancer Institute, led by Dr. Isaac Harris along with Drs. Fabio Hecht, Marco Zocchi, Tom Driver and Joshua Munger.
The study published in Nature was carried out with a combination of analysis of human samples and experimental models of breast cancer. It demonstrates that tumor cells subjected to environmental stress use the glutathione available in their environment to meet the demand for amino acids.
Antioxidant supplement
Cancer cells show metabolic flexibility. When they lack nutrients, they can take advantage of extracellular glutathione as their source of amino acids, among which cysteine stands out.
The antioxidant has glutamate, cysteine and glycine, which are degraded by gamma-glutamyltransferase enzymes. This allows tumors to use their components and ensure their growth even when other pathways are blocked by drugs.
The study suggests that glutathione strengthens tumor resistance. Experts revealed that if its catabolism is interrupted, tumor expansion slows down.