Findings in chickens could aid cancer treatment

White Leghorn chickens
Credit: Geri Glastra

The common barnyard chicken could provide some uncommon clues for fighting off diseases, particularly cancers, according to research published in PNAS.

Researchers tested two breeds of chickens for diversity in NK-lysin, an antibacterial substance that occurs naturally in animals and is used to fight off diseases.

The team identified two genetic variations of NK-lysin. Both demonstrated the ability to fight off bacterial infections and battle cancer cells, but one was substantially more effective than the other.

“It took all of us by surprise,” said senior study author James Womack, PhD, of Texas A&M University in College Station.

“One of the genetic variations shows it has the ability to fight against cancer cells much more aggressively than the other variation. We certainly were not looking at the cancer side of this, but there it was.”

Dr Womack and his colleagues had examined 62 White Leghorn and 53 Cornish chickens, looking for diversity in NK-lysin. The team selected these breeds because Cornish and White Leghorn chickens, found throughout most of the world, have relatively diverse genetic origins.

The researchers identified a single nucleotide polymorphism in the NK-lysin coding sequence in both chicken breeds. They noted that this A to G substitution at the position 271 nucleotide in the open reading frame results in an asparagine (N) to aspartic acid (D) alteration.

So the group synthesized two 30-aa peptides—N29N and N29D—to compare the biological activity that results from the polymorphic gene.

Both peptides demonstrated activity against bacterial infections and tumor cell cultures. But the N29N peptide showed greater activity than the N29D peptide on both fronts.

“This could lead to other steps to fight cancer . . .,” Dr Womack said. “It’s another door that has been opened up.”

“The next step is to work with other animals and see if similar variants exist. We need to look for any genetic similarities to the chicken variants and then determine if these variants affect the health of the animal, but this is an exciting first step in this direction.”

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