Sapkota Himal, Dasgupta Subrata, Roy Bishnudeo, Pathan Ejaj K
Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), 412115 Pune, Maharashtra, India.
RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 230-0045 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2025 Jan 23;17(1):26809. doi: 10.31083/FBE26809.
Cancer is a common, deadly disease with an unknown etiology. Meanwhile, current therapeutic options possess significant risks. However, probiotic bacteria and their metabolites have been reported to have antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on cancer cells. Therefore, because of their selective specificity and lack of treatment-associated comorbidities, these bacteria and their metabolites could be potential alternatives to conventional chemical and radiation therapies. Given their superior immunomodulatory and anti-cancer effects and lack of side effects, commensal bacteria derived from healthy humans are currently used as next-generation probiotics. This review summarizes current findings on these probiotic properties and anti-cancer activities of healthy human commensal bacteria. Additionally, the review focuses on small metabolites, proteins, and enzymes secreted by human commensal bacteria for their therapeutic applications against cancer. Further, utilizing a protein engineering strategy to reduce the toxicity of L-asparaginase, an enzyme-based anti-leukemia drug used for the last forty years, is also discussed. A possible workflow outline for isolating, identifying, screening, and characterizing human commensal bacterial strains for their therapeutic applications in cancer treatment is also proposed. This review emphasizes the need to explore various human commensal bacteria, not just mainstream lactic acid bacteria, for novel cancer therapeutics that provide multiple health benefits.
癌症是一种常见的致命疾病，病因不明。同时，目前的治疗选择存在重大风险。然而，据报道益生菌及其代谢产物对癌细胞具有抗增殖和凋亡作用。因此，由于它们具有选择性特异性且缺乏与治疗相关的合并症，这些细菌及其代谢产物可能是传统化学疗法和放射疗法的潜在替代方案。鉴于其卓越的免疫调节和抗癌作用以及缺乏副作用，源自健康人的共生细菌目前被用作下一代益生菌。本综述总结了关于这些益生菌特性以及健康人共生细菌抗癌活性的当前研究结果。此外，该综述聚焦于人类共生细菌分泌的小分子代谢产物、蛋白质和酶在癌症治疗中的应用。此外，还讨论了利用蛋白质工程策略降低L-天冬酰胺酶（一种已使用了四十年的基于酶的抗白血病药物）的毒性。还提出了一个可能的工作流程大纲，用于分离、鉴定、筛选和表征人类共生细菌菌株，以用于其在癌症治疗中的应用。本综述强调，为了开发具有多种健康益处的新型癌症疗法，需要探索各种人类共生细菌，而不仅仅是主流的乳酸菌。
