For the nearly one million Americans suffering from painful intestinal inflammation of ulcerative colitis, a simple vitamin supplement could offer hope.
What Exactly Happens?
In a study published in Nature Metabolism, researchers examined how vitamin B12 impacts cellular reprogramming and tissue regeneration after discovering a vitamin B12 shortage in the gut bacteria.
Cellular reprogramming allows mature cells to transform into embryonic cell layers that can generate any needed new cells or tissue. This process demands extensive energy and depletes vitamin B12 reserves in the body, the researchers found.They also found that in mice models, inadequate vitamin B12 levels inhibited successful cellular reprogramming and tissue repair, disrupting gene function. However, supplying vitamin B12 supplements improved cellular reprogramming efficiency.
The researchers validated their findings in a model of ulcerative colitis.
They demonstrated intestinal cells undergo similar reprogramming which also depleted vitamin B12 reserves. When researchers provided a B12 supplement, cellular regeneration and reprogramming increased efficiency in intestines mimicking inflammatory bowel disease.
