A team from Monash University in Australia explored how MR1 guides immune recognition of metabolic changes in cells and microbes. Researchers mapped MR1 binding across cell types by using mass spectrometry to profile small molecules bound to MR1 and carried out structural analyses of the MR1 vitamin B6 interaction.
Findings show that when vitamin B6 binds MR1, the complex can trigger immune cells to recognize and attack tumor cells. The work indicates that B6 helps MR1 detect cells with altered metabolism, including cancer cells that the immune system targets.
In the next steps, investigators plan to compare vitamin B6 expression in cancerous versus healthy cells and to evaluate whether this metabolic marker could guide cancer therapies.
The authors emphasize that MR1 varies little among humans, with only a few genetic variants described. This stability could support the development of universal therapies that work across diverse populations.
Earlier work has linked aging to higher cancer risk.