AntiCancer Inc., 7917 Ostrow Street, San Diego, CA 92111, USA.
Cancer Discov. 2012 Jul;2(7):588-90. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-12-0227.
The effects of bacteria on patients with cancer have been observed for at least two centuries. Recent studies in animal models of cancer have shown efficacy of both anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridia and Bifidobacteria and facultative anaerobes such as Salmonella. In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Flentie and colleagues have identified five Salmonella promoters that are specifically stimulated by cancer cells as well as by acidic pH, a property of most tumors. One of these promoters (STM1787) was linked to a Shiga toxin gene and inserted in a wild-type Salmonella typhimurium strain, which showed in vivo antitumor efficacy. Approaches to further improving the efficacy of S. typhimurium with the use of tumor-targeting mutations are discussed. Because the barriers to efficacy of standard therapy of cancer appear to be opportunities for bacterial cancer therapy, the future of bacterial therapy of cancer appears bright.
至少两个世纪以来，人们一直在观察细菌对癌症患者的影响。最近对癌症动物模型的研究表明，包括梭状芽孢杆菌和双歧杆菌在内的厌氧菌以及兼性厌氧菌（如沙门氏菌）均具有疗效。在本期《Cancer Discovery》中，Flentie 及其同事鉴定出五个沙门氏菌启动子，这些启动子可被癌细胞以及大多数肿瘤的酸性 pH 值特异性激活。其中一个启动子（STM1787）与志贺毒素基因相连，并插入到野生型鼠伤寒沙门氏菌菌株中，该菌株在体内显示出抗肿瘤疗效。文章还讨论了进一步利用肿瘤靶向突变来提高鼠伤寒沙门氏菌疗效的方法。由于癌症标准治疗效果不佳的原因似乎为细菌癌症治疗提供了机会，因此细菌治疗癌症的前景一片光明。
