An international research team led in part by scientists from the University of Florida and Trinity College Dublin has solved a long-standing mystery in human biology: how cells absorb key micronutrients associated with brain health and cancer protection.
Kew-osin (pronounced “ky-oh-seen”) is a vitamin-like compound that the body cannot produce on its own. Instead, it comes from certain foods and bacteria that live in your intestines. Despite its importance, this nutrient remained largely ignored for decades.
Discovered a gene that allows it to invade cells
In a study published this week, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesscientists have identified a gene responsible for transporting queosin into human cells. This breakthrough could ultimately support the development of new treatments that exploit the role of nutrients in memory, learning, and cancer suppression.
“For more than 30 years, scientists have suspected that a transporter for this nutrient exists, but no one has been able to find it,” said Valérie de Crécy-Lagar, distinguished professor of microbiology and cell sciences and associate professor in the department at UF/IFAS, and one of the study’s principal investigators. “We’ve been looking for it for a long time. This discovery opens a whole new chapter in understanding how the microbiome and our diet affect gene translation.”
The research was supported by multiple national health agencies, including the National Institute for Health Research, Research Ireland (formerly Science Foundation Ireland) and Northern Ireland Health and Social Care.
How cuosine shapes gene expression
Cuosine plays an important role in how the body builds proteins. It changes transfer RNA, a molecule that helps cells interpret DNA and make proteins correctly.
“It’s like a nutrient that fine-tunes the way your body reads your genes,” she said. “It’s interesting to think that this small compound that people have barely heard of could play such an important role.”
SLC35F2 identified as missing transporter
For years, scientists didn’t know how queosin entered cells. The discovery of the gene SLC35F2 fills that gap and provides a basis for future research. The gene had previously been studied for its role in allowing viruses and certain cancer drugs to enter cells, but its normal function in healthy biology was until now unknown, de Crécy-Lagar explained.
“Queosin has long been known to influence important processes such as brain health, metabolic regulation, cancer, and even the response to stress, but until now we didn’t know how it is retrieved from the gut and distributed to the billions of human cells that take it up,” said Vincent Kelly, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin and co-author of the paper.
Rediscovered nutrients impacting global research
Queosin is a small molecule that was first identified in the 1970s, but for many years it remained under-appreciated. Researchers participating in this international effort hope their new findings will draw more attention to its importance in overall health.
The project brought together scientists from the University of Florida, San Diego State University, The Ohio State University, and institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“I don’t think we could have done it without the whole team,” de Crécy-Lagar said. “This is a perfect example of what international cooperation can achieve.”
