Fighting malignant brain tumors with bacterial peptides

Microorganisms in the human body, which in their entirety are referred to as the "microbiome", play a major role in central biological processes both in the healthy organism and in many diseases. It has been known for several years that there is a correlation between the response rate to certain types of immunotherapies against tumors and the bacterial composition of the intestinal flora. It has also recently been shown that in many types of tumors there are bacteria that reside within the tumor - the so-called "tumor microbiome".

An international team of researchers has now succeeded in detecting small protein fragments (peptides) from bacteria that are presented to the immune system by brain tumors on the cell surface. "The bacterial peptides are not only presented, they are also recognized by the immune system and trigger an immune reaction against the tumour," says PD Dr. Marian Christoph Neidert, Deputy Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Cantonal Hospital of St.Gallen and one of the leaders of this research project. Thanks to the groundbreaking new findings, the results were published in the prestigious journal Nature. Alongside Science, Nature is considered the world's most prestigious journal for scientific publications.

The malignant brain tumor investigated in this project is called glioblastoma. Glioblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in adults. Despite surgical removal, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, this type of brain tumor inevitably returns and drastically limits the life expectancy of most patients. "These new findings will help us to develop better immunological approaches to brain tumors in the future," says Neidert. "This will hopefully enable us to significantly improve the chances for our patients."

Press release: Kantonsspital St.Gallen