On equal footing between tumors and us

Could what is supposed to heal us actually be harmful to our bodies? This is the question being raised about antioxidants, therapeutic molecules given to patients. Indeed, British researchers have just discovered that tumor cells use precisely this same defense mechanism based on antioxidants they produce.

This discovery could explain why therapies based on these molecules can prove ineffective, or even harmful, since they would only feed the tumor even more.

Cellular respiration, via mitochondria, generates free radicals, known as "reactive oxygen species" and therefore unstable.“Popular belief holds that free radicals are inherently harmful. They are indeed associated with the onset and progression of diseases in numerous contexts.”Healthy cells produce antioxidants to limit the effects of these unstable molecules,” explains Alexander Wesolowski, an immunology researcher at the University of Cambridge. This is why therapies based on antioxidant supplementation have been developed to prevent and treat certain cancers, but unexpectedly, several scientific studies report the ineffectiveness of these therapies, or even their harmfulness. Why? British researchers have just discovered a mechanism that could explain this finding.

Free radicals are not only harmful… They are part of the chemical signaling that allows the immune system to react.“We are becoming increasingly aware that the production of free radicals plays an important physiological role in cell signaling and function.”,” the biologist emphasizes. With his team, he demonstrated the usefulness of these oxidizing molecules in the reaction of T lymphocytes, immune cells. Even more surprisingly, he discovered that tumors could exploit this need by releasing antioxidants… Their results were published in the prestigious journal Science.