My new drawing illustrates bacteria inside cancer and immune cells!
Our bodies are made up of more than just our cells. They are also home to a huge diversity of bacteria and other microorganisms – our so-called ‘microbiome’ – most of which live inside our gut, but also on the skin, mouth and eyes.
A new study published in Science discovered living bacteria (green) inside cancer cells (red) and immune cells (white) within the surrounding tumor microenvironment. Studying over 1,500 cancer samples revealed that not only does each cancer type have its own unique population of bacteria, but the types of bacteria reflect the available metabolites – for example, compared to nonsmokers, samples from smokers’ lungs specifically had genes metabolizing nicotine and other chemicals found in cigarette smoke.
This exciting discovery is the first step towards understanding the tumor microbiome, and has the potential to help predict and improve the effectiveness of anticancer treatments.
Be sure to check out the exciting Science paper from the Weizmann Institute of Science!
