Vitamin B12 aids Cellular Reprogramming and Tissue Repair, Study Reveals

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a well-known vitamin that has long been recognized for its critical role in neuron function, red blood cell creation, and DNA synthesis, all of which are critical activities for overall health. Researchers at IRB Barcelona, lead by Dr. Manuel Serrano, have discovered that cobalamin is also important in cellular reprogramming and tissue regeneration. The research was published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

The study concentrated on an experimental procedure called cellular reprogramming, which is supposed to imitate the early stages of tissue healing. The IRB team discovered that cellular reprogramming in mice requires a lot of B12. Indeed, the deficiency of this vitamin becomes a limiting factor that slows and hinders various components of the reprogramming process.

Given the abundance of vitamin B12 in the typical diet of mice, the researchers were startled to see that simple vitamin B12 supplementation considerably increased the effectiveness of reprogramming.

Potential for treatment of ulcerative colitis

The findings were verified in an ulcerative colitis model, revealing that intestinal cells commencing repair go through a process comparable to cellular reprogramming and benefit from vitamin B12 treatment. This vitamin supplementation may benefit patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Our findings show that vitamin B12 plays an important role in cellular reprogramming and tissue repair.” “These findings have the potential to benefit patients through improved nutrition and hold promise for regenerative medicine,” says Dr. Manuel Serrano.

Understanding vitamin B12’s involvement in cellular reprogramming

The researchers investigated the metabolic requirements of cellular reprogramming in this work and discovered that cobalamin is a limiting factor for a specific branch of metabolism involved in a reaction known as methylation. To be more specific, the DNA of cells undergoing reprogramming or tissue repair requires extremely high quantities of this methylation process, and thus vitamin B12.

cobalamin deficiency during reprogramming or tissue regeneration caused significant epigenetic alterations, resulting in abnormalities in the activity of several genes, the researchers discovered.

“Supplementation with vitamin B12 corrected this imbalance, resulting in enhanced gene function fidelity and overall improved reprogramming efficiency,” says first author Dr. Marta Kovatcheva, a postdoctoral researcher in the same laboratory.

A separate study connects vitamin B12 to reduced inflammation

Dr. Serrano’s group recently published another study, this time in collaboration with Dr. Rosa Lamuela-Raventós’ laboratory at the University of Barcelona (UB) and Dr. Ramon Estruch’s laboratory at the Hospital Clnic of Barcelona, in which they concluded that people with higher levels of vitamin B12 in their blood had lower levels of inflammatory markers (IL-6 and CRP).

In older mice, the researchers discovered a similar link. These findings imply that cobalamin has an anti-inflammatory effect by lowering these markers in the body, and they provide important insights into vitamin B12’s possible health benefits.

For more information : Vitamin B₁₂ is a limiting factor for induced cellular plasticity and tissue repair

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00916-6