Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine in the USA found that jet lag and the resulting disruption in circadian rhythms may be linked to liver cancer. Research results published In the Journal of Hepatology.
The study was conducted with the participation of two groups of laboratory mice that had previously been transplanted with human liver cells. They were exposed to two different conditions. A group of animals lived according to the natural cycle of day and night. For another group, researchers developed a special sleep-wake schedule that simulated multiple changes in time zones when a person flew from San Francisco to London.
It turned out that compared to mice that live in accordance with natural biorhythms (cyclic fluctuations in the intensity of various biological processes associated with the change of day and night), rodents in the jet lag group lived less. In addition, they were also prone to developing liver cirrhosis, a chronic disease characterized by the irreversible replacement of healthy liver tissue with fibrous connective tissue.
Additionally, jaundice and liver cancer were more common in the mice in the experimental group. At the same time, the molecular pathways and mechanisms of cancer development in mice were similar to humans. Returning mice to normal circadian rhythms slowed tumor growth and prevented metastasis.
Scientists noted that they did not set out to prove that jet lag necessarily causes cancer. But new information from the study could lead to the development of better treatments and prevention of the disease.
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