How Nutrition Influences Cancer   [18.03.20]

Cancer research is his passion: Prof. Dr. Dr. Sascha Venturelli investigates what hops or vitamin C have to do with tumor diseases. Since October of last year, he has been head of the Department of Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Hohenheim.

 

 

Mr. Venturelli, your department has kept its name. What are you doing differently from your predecessor Prof. Lutz Graeve?

My research focus is different: I do oncological research, i.e. tumor research. I can continue and expand this here in Hohenheim. My group is investigating how specific food ingredients can therapeutically modulate the development of tumors and the spread of cancer.

So you are a physician?

I studied biology in Freiburg and medicine in Tübingen. Then I completed a natural science doctoral thesis in Hohenheim and a medical dissertation in Tübingen.

Initially, I was laboratory manager in oncology research at the University Hospital in Tübingen and a guest scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. I was then able to establish my own research group in Tübingen as part of the Excellence Initiative, with a focus on epigenetics and nutrition. Building on this, I was appointed deputy director of the Department of Vegetative and Clinical Physiology in Tübingen and academic director, but was able to continue my oncological research. At that time, I was also very active in teaching, which made my start at Hohenheim much easier.

What is the most important question that drives you in your research?

The most important question is: how can one prevent the development of cancer with something as simple and everyday as nutrition? After all, almost everyone has experienced cases of cancer in their family. In recent years there have been some new therapeutic approaches, but you can also control many things with nutrition and support therapy. Therefore, nutrition can contribute a lot to health.

What is the big mystery you want to solve with your research?

I want to break down the food and filter out the basic structure that can contribute significantly to preventing cancer. The "magic bullet" against malignant degeneration will unfortunately not be available in the foreseeable future, but it would be fantastic if we could find the one substance that would slow down or even reverse the spread of cancer in the long term.

If you could have unlimited resources and possibilities: what project would you pursue?

Actually, that would be two things: We are working on producing organoids from human colon cells, i.e. intestinal cells, and combining these with autologous immune cells. This is a mini-colon made of colon cells, so it is not a pure cell culture, but something that is close to the living system.

What do such organoids look like?

Small spherical structures - you can see them with the naked eye, but you need a microscope to see them more precisely. The good thing is that they are durable, can be frozen and then expanded again. Our dream would be to build up a large human organoid bank in order to reduce animal experiments. This would allow considerable savings on animal experiments. If the organoids are combined with immune cells from the same donor, the effect of many substances can be tested well. However, there is one limitation: the metabolism is naturally lacking. But they are a good substitute to find out which substances kill the diseased tissue and at the same time protect the healthy tissue.

And what would be the second project you would start with unlimited funds?

A comprehensive screening for substances that can halt or even reverse the development of tumors. Our food contains a great many different substances per se, and then you also have to look at their metabolites. So this is very time-consuming, the famous search for the needle in the haystack.

What are your research topics in reality - apart from organoids?

We are investigating food ingredients for tumor therapy. We are currently working with vitamin C. When taken orally, it is excreted at a certain dose, which can be avoided by intravenous administration and thus very high plasma levels can be achieved. Vitamin C then becomes a prooxidant, which means that it promotes the formation of free oxygen radicals. And this damages the tumor cells. Recently published data on patients suffering from glioblastoma, a very malignant brain tumor with unfortunately limited therapeutic options, showed that patients with a poor prognosis benefited greatly from this high-dose vitamin C administration.

We are also investigating food ingredients that activate the immune system so that it can then fight tumor cells. We are currently focusing on prenylflavonoids from beer...

... so in hops?

Yes, these active substances enter the beer via the hops and can also be contained in non-alcoholic beer. Our data shows that individual representatives of this substance class strengthen the immune system and at the same time impair the growth of tumor cells.

So we should drink as much beer as possible?

Oh no, you couldn't achieve the necessary concentration with beer. But these food ingredients are of course very interesting for oncological research and there are good cooperation opportunities in hops here in Hohenheim, which I am very much looking forward to.

In addition, food ingredients can also trigger cellular senescence - which is a desired effect in oncology under certain conditions. Another of our projects deals with so-called natural killer cells, abbreviated as NK cells. These NK cells are currently already used in cancer therapy, and we are trying to modify them so that they are safer for healthy, non-malignant cells, but more aggressive against the tumor.

Can students participate in research projects?

Yes, with Bachelor's and Master's theses and of course dissertations. During their studies, there is also the possibility to participate in an excursion to the DKFZ, that is, the German Cancer Research Center. I took over from Prof. Graeve, my predecessor, and I would like to extend such excursions to other research institutions or companies in the food or pharmaceutical industries. Because the subject matter is not just theory, and sometimes it also leads to internships or Master's and doctoral theses. The feedback from the students so far has been very positive, and we therefore want to expand this area further in the long term.

Do you also offer Humboldt reloaded projects?

I think Humboldt reloaded is very good and would love to offer a project - we have to see if we can do it. Early applied learning is very important, it helps above all to keep up with the initial period of study, which is usually very theoretical and not very application-oriented.

What are the main aspects of your teaching?

I want to actively involve the students, i.e. interactive teaching instead of frontal teaching. This way you get to know the current state of knowledge better and the lessons are simply more lively.

Textbook knowledge must of course also be conveyed, but it can be enriched with current research and clinical relevance. And last but not least, social relevance is also important.

Students should ultimately learn to be critical and to question things - "to think outside the box".

Your subject is by nature very interdisciplinary...

...yes, biochemistry includes biology, chemistry, medicine, genetics, physiology, and immunology, to name but a few disciplines. This should be emphasized, for example by having guest lecturers come and thus present the entire breadth of the subject of biochemistry to the students in a vivid way and from different perspectives.

To this end, my laboratory manager Dr. Markus Burkard and I are planning a new module for the Master's program in Nutrition Medicine and Molecular Nutrition Sciences. The module will deal with drugs and nutrition. It provides an overview of the biochemical basis of some selected diseases, the pharmacological intervention options available, and the influence nutrition can have on the course of a disease. This is therefore very practice-oriented.

Where will your students work later?

This is already a broad field because our students come from different fields of study: We have students from nutritional sciences, agricultural biology, nutritional medicine, nutrition management, and dietetics. These are all different career profiles.

But in general terms, students can later go into industrial and academic research, university teaching, or business - i.e. management and production. But they can also work in clinics or become self-employed with nutritional counselling or coaching. A lot has changed in recent years, especially for tumor patients: They used to ask about the latest chemotherapy, but now they also ask about nutrition and sports and need appropriate advice.

What is your personal summary after your first semester here in Hohenheim?

I like it here in Hohenheim very much, I have experienced an incredible helpfulness and openness. There is a very pleasant and productive atmosphere here and there is a broad range of expertise in nutrition research. I am therefore looking forward to interesting cooperation even beyond the boundaries of the faculties - for example on the subject of hops.

What about your leisure activities, Mr. Venturelli?

I do a lot of sports in particular: skiing - especially ski touring, horseback riding, and diving. That is a good balance to work.

 

Thank you very much for the interview!

 

Interview: Elsner / Translation: Neudorfer