Jit Chatterjee, PhD, a senior researcher in the laboratory of Dr. David Gutmann, recently found that bacteria in the intestines are important for brain tumor development and progression in mouse models of NF1. In collaboration with Megan Baldridge, MD, PhD, he showed that mice harboring optic gliomas treated with specific antibiotics had reduced tumor growth.
To determine how gut bacteria decrease brain tumor growth, Dr. Chatterjee used a numerous of methods to identify a protein in the blood important for activation of immune cells in the tumor. By depleting this protein in the blood, he was able to reduce optic glioma growth in mice.
These exciting observations reveal a clear mechanistic connection between bacteria in the gut and brain tumor growth in NF1. Moreover, his findings suggest future potential therapies and predictive risk factors for optic glioma in children with NF1.
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