Cancer affects millions of people around the world each year, but treatment remains difficult due to the complexity of the disease. The new findings were published March 17 in an open access journal PLOS Biology Tianyu Jiang and colleagues at Shandong University in Qingdao, China, highlight the possibility of a new strategy. researchers have shown that Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) carries anti-cancer compounds and can be modified to target tumors in mice.
Bacteria live naturally in the human body and affect both health and disease. Scientists are studying whether these microbes can be redesigned to fight cancer, but their effectiveness as treatments is still unclear.
To test this idea, the team engineered a probiotic strain. Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) enables the production of romidepsin (FK228), an FDA-approved drug with anti-cancer properties. Through genetic engineering and genome engineering, they developed a version of the bacteria that can produce this drug. They then created a mouse model by introducing breast cancer tumor cells and treated the mice with the modified bacteria.
Tumor colonization and targeted drug release
Experiments showed that EcN can accumulate within tumors and release romidepsin FK228 under different conditions in both laboratory and live animal environments. This allows the bacteria to serve as a targeted therapy, delivering drugs directly to the tumor site.
Still, further research is needed. This approach has not yet been tested in humans, and future research will need to consider possible side effects and strategies to safely remove bacteria after treatment. These factors may influence how useful genetically engineered EcN becomes as a cancer treatment.
Cancer treatment strategy with dual action
According to the authors, “probiotic strains are Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) may be a type of tumor-targeting bacterium and holds great promise for cancer treatment. By exploiting engineered EcN, bacteria-assisted tumor-targeted therapies can be designed for the biosynthesis and targeted delivery of small molecule anticancer drugs. Our mouse model studies establish a solid foundation for engineering bacteria that can produce small molecule anticancer drugs and engage in bacteria-assisted tumor-targeted therapy, paving the way for future advances in this field. ”
The authors add: ”Escherichia coli Nissle 1917’s tumor colonization synergizes with the anticancer activity of romidepsin to form a dual-acting cancer therapy. ”
