Examining nutrition's role in helping reduce negative effects of anthracycline chemotherapy treatment

Researchers in The Ohio State University Department of Food Science and Technology’s Belury Laboratory examine selective metabolic modulators in the diet, studying compounds such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, isoflavones and metabolites derived from dietary constituents.  

Recent research completed by Kate Marris, a student of Martha Belury, PhD, RD, professor in the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University, looks into medication for breast cancer. Marris, who is a T32 predoctoral trainee, looks at anthracycline chemotherapy (AC), a cytotoxic antibiotic commonly used to treat breast cancer. While AC increases survival rates for patients, AC also may cause cardiotoxicity that can lead to cardiomyopathy and heart failure.  

Marris’ dissertation, titled, “Targeting the Mitochondria to Investigate Anthracycline-induced Cardiotoxicity” examines the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dysfunction and its role in cardiotoxicity. The overarching goal is to determine if dietary oils exert cardioprotection against AC. Conclusions include:  

• In a prospective feasibility study, AC induced subclinical cardiac dysfunction in women with breast cancer after just one AC cycle.  
• Blood lipidomic research involves analyzing various lipid species in blood samples, including cardiolipin, providing insight on metabolic health, complex interactions between lipids and other biological molecules and also measure the impact of diet on lipid metabolism. Linoleic acid-poor species of cardiolipin were associated with subclinical markers of cardiotoxicity during AC regimen in women with breast cancer. 
• AC binds to cardiolipin in the mitochondrial electron transport chain, increasing generation of reactive oxygen species and contributing to cardiotoxicity.  
• Safflower oil high in linoleic acid preserves cardiac structure, function and lipidomics. Cardiolipin’s optimal form for mitochondrial structure and function is tetralinoleoyl-cardiolipin, composed of four linoleic acid side chains. Linoleic acid is an essential omega-6 fatty acid that humans must consume in the diet. 
• Coconut oil diet and doxorubicin, a type of AC, induced cardiac hypertrophy, stiffness, metabolic inflexibility and aberrant cardiolipin (CL) remodeling. 

Future research aims to measure diastolic and mitochondrial function in mouse models of AC cardiotoxicity, in order to improve our understanding of the role of poor mitochondria function in cardiomyopathy caused by AC chemotherapy.