Yeast Beta-Glucan Reprograms Bone Marrow to Fight Tumors
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- Trinity College Dublin and UCD researchers found that yeast beta-glucan reprogrammed early immune cells in mice's bone marrow, producing stronger, longer-lasting cancer-fighting responses against colorectal, skin, and breast cancer cells.
- The dietary intervention reversed immune memory defects in obese mice that persisted even after weight loss — a problem Prof. Helen Roche called 'a major unmet clinical challenge.'
- Anna Ledwith, first author of the paper, said mice were fed standard or high-fat diets supplemented with yeast beta-glucan for 4-12 weeks before being challenged with different types of cancer cells.
- Prof. Roche said this is the first demonstration that consuming yeast beta-glucan through diet — not injection — is sufficient to induce trained immunity by altering bone marrow stem cells.
- The specific supplement tested, Wellmune™ from Kerry Group, is already food-grade and commercially available, which Prof. Frederick Sheedy said facilitates rapid clinical trials.
- The research was published in Cell Reports and identifies dietary intervention studies in people with obesity, chronic infections, and immunocompromised populations as the next step.
Why it matters: For people with obesity, immune dysfunction often persists after weight loss — and this study identifies a commercially available yeast supplement that reversed those defects in mice. Because Wellmune is already food-grade and sold as a supplement, researchers say it can move directly into human clinical testing rather than requiring new drug development.
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