To find better ways to fight cancer, scientists have developed a creative approach that uses the body’s own fat cells in surprising ways. Rather than allowing the tumor to consume all the energy it needs, the researchers designed fat cells to compete with the tumor for these nutrients—effectively starving the cancer to death. This strategy shows that in a range of laboratory cancer models, the ability to reduce or even stop tumor growth is strong.
Professor Nadav Ahituv and colleagues from the University of California, San Francisco, created this new approach, called fat manipulation transplantation, a process that uses improved adipose tissue to interfere with cancer growth. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
To develop this technology, Professor Ahituv’s team used gene editing tools, which are ways to change specific parts of the cell’s genetic material to reprogram common adipocytes, so they absorb more sugar and fat than usual. When these specially designed cells are placed next to the tumors of mice, they usually rely on the energy absorption of growth. As a result, the tumor was less than half the size. Vascular growth around the tumor is also reduced, which further limits the tumor’s reproductive ability. These engineered adipocytes also slowed tumor growth when tested using laboratory growth clusters from patients’ breast cancer cells.
The key part of success comes from changing the performance of adipocytes. By enhancing a gene called uncoupled protein 1, which helps cells burn as heat rather than store, the researchers make the cell act more like a fat known for burning energy, called brown fat. This transformation increases the ability of adipocytes to process sugars and fats. As Professor Ahituv said, “Cultivating patient-derived adipocytes with tumor organoids of dissected human breast cancer can significantly inhibit cancer progression and proliferation.”
What makes this technology particularly promising is how effective it is for different types of cancer, not just one type of cancer. The researchers not only saw positive results for breast cancer, but also lived with colon, pancreas and prostate cancer. Modified adipocytes directly affect cancer and the areas around the tumor. The team saw fewer signs of oxygen shortages inside the tumor, less blood vessel formation, and more cancer cells dying. “We show that CRISPR-based gene activation (a method that promotes the activity of certain genes without cleavage of DNA) – the construct of uncoupled protein 1, the receptor gamma resonant 1-α, which is a key regulator of energy production, or a trend containing 16 genes, causes human trends, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to human development, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to human development, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to model reproduction, lead to human development, lead to model reproduction, lead to human development, Professor Echtov pointed out, explaining how these changes disrupt the energy supply of cancer, in order to increase glucose uptake and subdivision of fatty acids.”
To confirm their findings, the scientists also tested treatments in mice that genetically altered to develop pancreatic or breast cancer. They place engineered adipocytes nearby or near or far from the tumor. In both cases, the tumor shrinks significantly. Importantly, this treatment does not cause harmful side effects, such as extreme weight loss, a problem that is often associated with cancer treatments that affect the entire body.
The reason for setting this method is how flexible and safe it can be used in people. Adipose tissue is easily removed from the body using liposuction and can be modified in the body before being put back into the body. These modified adipocytes can even be tailored to block specific nutrients that the tumor depends on. For example, the team changed some cells to target a nutrient called uridine, a substance used to build RNA, which is important for some pancreatic tumors. This personalization suggests that the method can be customized for each patient based on the unique characteristics of its cancer.
This discovery opens the door to another cancer therapy – a change in how nutrients are used without relying on toxic drugs. By turning fat cells into starving neighbors who steal fuel from tumors, scientists may have found a new way to help patients fight cancer. Fat manipulation transplant strategies can provide a natural and targeted treatment that can be used with the body’s own systems to stop the disease.
Journal Reference
Nguyen HP, An K., Ito Y., Kharbikar BN, Sheng R. et al. “Implantation of engineered adipocytes inhibits tumor progression in cancer models.” Nature Biotechnology, 2024. DOI:
About the Author
Professor Nadav Ashitov is a geneticist and biomedical researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, where he leads pioneering work in the fields of gene regulation and functional genomics. His research focuses on understanding how changes in non-coding regions of DNA (parts that are not directly encoded for proteins) can affect human development and disease. Professor Ahituv played a key role in advancing tools based on CRISPR to manipulate genetic activity without changing the DNA itself. He is particularly interested in how these technologies can be safely applied to personalized medicine, including cancer therapy. His lab work often brings basic science to clinical potential and uses genetic insights to design targeted tissue-specific therapies. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, Professor Ahituv continues to explore how to fine-tune our genetic instructions in new and highly precise ways to treat complex diseases.
