Bacteria-mediated tumor-targeted delivery of tumstatin (54-132) significantly suppresses tumor growth in mouse model by inhibiting angiogenesis and promoting apoptosis

Bacterial live therapeutics for human diseases

The genomic revolution has fueled rapid progress in synthetic and systems biology, opening up new possibilities for using live biotherapeutic products (LBP) to treat, attenuate or prevent human diseases. Among LBP, bacteria-based therapies are particularly promising due to their ability to colonize diverse human tissues, modulate the immune system and secrete or deliver complex biological products. These bacterial LBP include engineered pathogenic species designed to target specific diseases, and microbiota species that promote microbial balance and immune system homeostasis, either through local administration or the gut-body axes. This review focuses on recent advancements in preclinical and clinical trials of bacteria-based LBP, highlighting both on-site and long-reaching strategies.

Matrikines in the skin: Origin, effects, and therapeutic potential

The extracellular matrix (ECM) represents a complex multi-component environment that has a decisive influence on the biomechanical properties of tissues and organs. Depending on the tissue, ECM components are subject to a homeostasis of synthesis and degradation, a subtle interplay that is influenced by external factors and the intrinsic aging process and is often disturbed in pathologies. Upon proteolytic cleavage of ECM proteins, small bioactive peptides termed matrikines can be formed. These bioactive peptides play a crucial role in cell signaling and contribute to the dynamic regulation of both physiological and pathological processes such as tissue remodeling and repair as well as inflammatory responses. In the skin, matrikines exert an influence for instance on cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation as well as vasodilation, angiogenesis and protein expression. Due to their manifold functions, matrikines represent promising leads for developing new therapeutic options for the treatment of skin diseases. This review article gives a comprehensive overview on matrikines in the skin, including their origin in the dermal ECM, their biological effects and therapeutic potential for the treatment of skin pathologies such as melanoma, chronic wounds and inflammatory skin diseases or for their use in anti-aging cosmeceuticals.

VNP20009-Abvec-Igκ-MIIP suppresses ovarian cancer progression by modulating Ras/MEK/ERK signaling pathway

Ovarian cancer poses a significant threat to women's health, with conventional treatment methods encountering numerous limitations, and the emerging engineered bacterial anti-tumor strategies offer newfound hope for ovarian cancer treatment. In this study, we constructed the VNP20009-Abvec-Igκ-MIIP (VM) engineered strain and conducted initial assessments of its in vitro growth performance and the expression capability of migration/invasion inhibitory protein (MIIP). Subsequently, ID8 ovarian cancer cells and mouse cancer models were conducted to investigate the impact of VM on ovarian cancer. Our results revealed that the VM strain demonstrated superior growth performance, successfully invaded ID8 ovarian cancer cells, and expressed MIIP, consequently suppressing cell proliferation and migration. Moreover, VM specifically targeted tumor sites and expressed MIIP which further reduced the tumor volume of ovarian cancer mice (p < 0.01), via the downregulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Ras, p-MEK, and p-ERK. The downregulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and the decrease in Bcl-2/Bax levels also indicated VM's apoptotic potency on ovarian cancer cells. In summary, our research demonstrated that VM exhibits promising anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo, underscoring its potential for clinical treatment of ovarian cancer. KEY POINTS: • This study has constructed an engineered strain of Salmonella typhimurium capable of expressing anticancer proteins • The engineered bacteria can target and colonize tumor sites in vivo • VM can inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of ovarian cancer cells.