Vitcylation of Lysine: The Novel Mechanism of Vitamin C in Tumor Treatment

Vitamin C (vitC), an essential nutrient for human health, has critical roles in numerous biological processes. VitC’s potential in disease prevention and treatment is a focus of ongoing research. Recent clinical studies have highlighted its promising effects in combating various tumor diseases, thus...

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Main Authors: Jiatong Li, Ao Gu, Nannan Tang, Jin-Wei Zhou, Chen Li, Gokhan Zengin, Meng-Yao Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Compuscript Ltd 2025-05-01
Series:BIO Integration
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Online Access:https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/bioi-2025-0057
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Summary:Vitamin C (vitC), an essential nutrient for human health, has critical roles in numerous biological processes. VitC’s potential in disease prevention and treatment is a focus of ongoing research. Recent clinical studies have highlighted its promising effects in combating various tumor diseases, thus spurring further exploration of its anti-tumor mechanisms. Historically, the known anti-tumor mechanisms of vitC have included redox regulation and epigenetic modifications. He et al. have now uncovered a novel pathway in which covalent modification directly targets immune signaling proteins (Cell, 2025, 188, 1858–1877. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.01.043). These findings, particularly lysine vitcylation, substantially change the understanding of vitC’s mechanistic landscape. This Commentary comprehensively analyzes He’s study elucidating the key mechanisms underlying vitC’s anti-tumor efficacy. Furthermore, it thoroughly examines the newly proposed mechanism and discusses potential implications for clinical applications as well as future challenges.
ISSN:2712-0082