运动可以预防高危小鼠发生肝癌

运动可以预防高危小鼠发生肝癌

Liver cancer rates have more than tripled since 1980, according to the American Cancer Society, and a rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes have played a significant role in this trend. Scientists investigating these links in mice have uncovered new evidence of the importance of exercise in keeping these conditions at bay, finding that it likely prevents early onset of liver cancer in high-risk individuals.

美国癌症协会(American cancer Society)的数据显示，自1980年以来，肝癌发病率增加了两倍多，肥胖和2型糖尿病的增加在这一趋势中起了重要作用。科学家们在老鼠身上研究了这些联系，发现了新的证据，证明运动对控制这些状况的重要性。他们发现，运动可能会防止高危人群过早患上肝癌。

The benefits of regular exercise in maintaining health and wellbeing are well known, and recent research has pointed to the role it can play in preventing or even combating cancer. The new study conducted by researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) sought to dive a little deeper into this, and if exercise could prevent liver cancer in those already at high risk.

定期锻炼在保持健康和幸福方面的好处是众所周知的，最近的研究指出了它在预防甚至与癌症作斗争方面的作用。这项由澳大利亚国立大学(ANU)的研究人员进行的新研究试图更深入地探讨这一问题，以及锻炼是否可以预防那些已经处于高危状态的人患上肝癌。

Specifically, the team studied how fatty liver disease linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes can act as a precursor to liver cancer, and how exercise could break this chain of negative health outcomes. Mice were engineered to over-eat in order to develop obesity and type 2 diabetes, with the rodents then injected with cancer-causing agents early in life.

具体来说，研究小组研究了与肥胖和2型糖尿病相关的脂肪肝疾病如何成为肝癌的前兆，以及运动如何打破这一负面健康结果的链条。老鼠被设计成暴饮暴食，以形成肥胖和2型糖尿病，这些啮齿动物在生命早期就被注射了致癌剂。

Half of these mice were given a running wheel and the other half were not, condemning them to a sedentary existence. The active mice ran up to 40 km (25 mi) a day, which slowed down their weight gain somewhat. While they did still go on to develop obesity after six months, they were in far better health than the sedentary group of mice.

这些老鼠中的一半被给予了一个跑步轮，而另一半没有，这使它们不得不过着久坐不动的生活。活跃的老鼠每天跑40公里(25英里)，这在一定程度上减缓了它们的体重增加。虽然六个月后它们还是会继续发胖，但它们的健康状况比久坐不动的那组老鼠要好得多。

“Nearly all the mice that did not exercise developed cancer within six months,” says Professor Farrell. “Among the mice that exercised none developed liver cancer in six months, showing that exercise prevented early onset of liver cancer.”

法雷尔教授说:“几乎所有不运动的老鼠在六个月内都患上了癌症。”“而锻炼的老鼠六个月内没有患上肝癌，这表明锻炼可以预防肝癌的早期发作。”

The scientists observed a reduction in the severity of fatty liver disease in the mice that exercised, along with a reduction in activity of a stress-related signaling molecule called JNK1. This molecular pathway is thought to play a role in altering liver cells as they develop into cancers, and the study suggests that it could be switched off via regular exercise.

科学家们观察到，运动的小鼠脂肪肝的严重程度有所降低，同时与应激相关的信号分子 JNK1的活性也有所降低。这一分子通路被认为在肝细胞癌变过程中起着重要作用，研究表明，通过定期锻炼，这种分子通路可以被关闭。

The research was published in the Journal of Hepatology.

这项研究发表在《肝脏病学杂志》上。