Scientists solve 30-year mystery of a hidden nutrient that protects the brain and fights cancer
Why it matters: This discovery opens new avenues for developing therapies that leverage queuosine's roles in memory, learning, and cancer suppression.
- University of Florida and Trinity College Dublin led an international team in identifying the gene SLC35F2, which transports the micronutrient queuosine into human cells.
- Queuosine, a vitamin-like compound obtained from food and gut bacteria, is essential for brain health, memory, learning, and cancer suppression by altering transfer RNA and fine-tuning gene expression.
- SLC35F2 had previously been studied for its role in allowing viruses and certain cancer drugs to enter cells, but its function as a queuosine transporter was unknown until this discovery.
- The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, received support from the National Institutes of Health, Research Ireland, and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland.
Scientists have solved a 30-year mystery by identifying the gene SLC35F2 as the transporter for queuosine, a vital micronutrient crucial for brain health, memory, stress response, and cancer defense. This breakthrough, led by researchers at the University of Florida and Trinity College Dublin, reveals how diet and gut microbes profoundly influence human health by fine-tuning gene expression.
