According to new research from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, high levels of ammonia in tumours cause a decrease in T cells and immunotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer mouse models. The researchers discovered, ammonia inhibits the growth and function of T cells, which are essential for anti-tumor immunity. The findings were published in Cell Metabolism. "We identified the mechanism of how ammonia dysregulates T cell function and showed that reducing ammonia levels using FDA-approved drugs for hyperammonemia can reduce tumor size in several different models including metastatic colorectal cancer," says Hannah Bell, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in cancer biology and author on this paper. "Use of this drug also synergizes with immunotherapy. If you treat the mice with immunotherapy when you also treat them with this ammonia reducing agent, you’re able to sensitize the tumors to treatment."
About the Author
