Gut Microbiota as a Positive Potential Therapeutic Factor in Carcinogenesis: an Overview of Microbiota-Targeted Therapy

Ferrostatin-1 mitigates ionizing radiation-induced intestinal injuries by inhibiting apoptosis and ferroptosis: an in vitro and in vivo study

PURPOSE

Intestinal injuries caused by ionizing radiation (IR) are a major complication of radiotherapy. Ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. We investigated the influence of Fer-1 on IR-induced intestinal damage and explored the possible mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

IEC-6 cells were administrated with Fer-1 for 30 min and subsequently subjected to 9.0 Gy-irradiation. Flow cytometry, qPCR, and WB were used to detect changes. For in vivo experiments, Fer-1 was given intraperitoneally to mice at 1 h before and 24 h after 9.0 Gy total body irradiation (TBI) respectively. Three days after TBI, the small intestines were isolated for analysis. The diversity and composition of the gut microbiota were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

RESULTS

In vitro, Fer-1 protected IEC-6 cells from IR injury by reducing the production of ROS and inhibiting both ferroptosis and apoptosis. In vivo, Fer-1 enhanced the survival rates of mice subjected to lethal doses of IR and restored intestinal structure and physiological function. Further investigation showed that Fer-1 protected IEC-6 cells and mice by inhibiting the p53-mediated apoptosis signaling pathway and restoring the gut-microbe balance.

CONCLUSION

This study confirms that Fer-1 protects intestinal injuries through suppressing apoptosis and ferroptosis.

Synergistic effect of probiotic and postbiotic on attenuation of PM2.5-induced lung damage and allergic response

To date, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between postbiotics and air pollution, and there is limited knowledge if postbiotic and probiotic have synergistic effects. Therefore, we created a PM-induced lung inflammation mice model and demonstrated the effect of probiotic, postbiotic, and their combination treatment on attenuation of PM2.5-induced lung damage and allergic response. The mice were intratracheally given PM2.5 triggering conditions of acute lung damage and allergic response. Our results showed that individual treatment of probiotic and postbiotic reduced body weight loss by 47.1% and 48.9%, but the results did not show any effect on polarizing IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio. In addition, PM2.5-induced overactive expression of IgE treated by probiotic and postbiotic was reduced by 33.2% and 30.4%, respectively. While combination treatment of probiotic and postbiotic exerted a synergistic effect, especially considerably on improving IgE reduction by 57.1%, body weight loss by 78.3%, and IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio boost by 87.5%. To sum up the above functionality, these research findings may help establish a novel platform for postbiotic application, formulation, and mechanistic selection with regard to PM2.5-induced lung injury. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Allergic inflammation caused by PM2.5 is not like common allergens (ex. Pollens, ovalbumin, dust mites), which simply skewing Th1/Th2 polarization to Th2. Thus using probiotics screened by Th1-skewing criteria might not be the best choice to treat on PM2.5-induced symptoms. This research proposed a combination of probiotics and postbiotics on modulating immunity homeostasis, and consequently attenuating complications of PM2.5-induced lung damage. These research findings may help establish a novel platform for postbiotic application, formulation and mechanistic selection with regard to PM2.5-induced lung injury.

New Insights into the Relationship between Gut Microbiota and Radiotherapy for Cancer

Cancer is the second most common cause of death among humans in the world, and the threat that it presents to human health is becoming more and more serious. The mechanisms of cancer development have not yet been fully elucidated, and new therapies are changing with each passing day. Evidence from the literature has validated the finding that the composition and modification of gut microbiota play an important role in the development of many different types of cancer. The results also demonstrate that there is a bidirectional interaction between the gut microbiota and radiotherapy treatments for cancer. In a nutshell, the modifications of the gut microbiota caused by radiotherapy have an effect on tumor radiosensitivity and, as a result, affect the efficacy of radiotherapy and show a certain radiation toxicity, which leads to numerous side effects. What is of new research significance is that the "gut-organ axis" formed by the gut microbiota may be one of the most interesting potential mechanisms, although the relevant research is still very limited. In this review, we combine new insights into the relationship between the gut microbiota, cancer, and radiotherapy. Based on our current comprehensive understanding of this relationship, we give an overview of the new cancer treatments based on the gut microbiota.

Impact of microbiota-immunity axis in pancreatic cancer management

The microbiota impact on human diseases is well-known, and a growing body of literature is providing evidence about the complex interplay between microbiota-immune system-human physiology/pathology, including cancers. Together with the defined risk factors (e.g., smoke habits, diet, diabetes, and obesity), the oral, gut, biliary, and intrapancreatic microbiota contribute to pancreatic cancer development through different pathways including the interaction with the immune system. Unfortunately, a great majority of the pancreatic cancer patients received a diagnosis in advanced stages not amenable to be radically treated and potentially cured. Given the poor pancreatic cancer prognosis, complete knowledge of these complicated relationships could help researchers better understand the disease pathogenesis and thus provide early potential non-invasive biomarkers, new therapeutic targets, and tools for risk stratification that might result in greater therapeutic possibilities and eventually in a better and longer patient survival.

Functional Characterization of Clostridium tyrobutyricum L319: A Promising Next-Generation Probiotic for Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production

Probiotics contribute a lot to human health and the occurrence of diseases. Correspondingly, probiotics’ safety evaluation and probiotic properties have received increasing attention in the food industry and disease treatment. Clostridium tyrobutyricum L319 is a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing strain isolated from Grana Padano cheese with a blowing defect. Our previous study has shown its safety at the genomic level. This study focused more on the safety evaluation and probiotic properties in vitro. According to the results, this strain has no potential virulence factors or the possibility of antibiotic resistance genes propagation. It also fulfilled several criteria to be used as a probiotic, including significant hydrophobicity under an acidic condition (pH 5.0) and resistance to simulate gastric juice and intestinal juice. Additionally, this strain was found to be tolerant to the harsh conditions of the external environment, including resistance to low (20°C) and high (50°C) temperatures, high salts (3% NaCl), and low pH (pH 5.0). Finally, we found that this strain could ferment prebiotics, such as chito-oligosaccharides, to produce SCFAs. It exhibited excellent growth performance whether using chito-oligosaccharide as a sole carbon source or combining glucose as the mixed carbon source. Furthermore, chito-oligosaccharide and glucose (1:1) mixed carbon sources were the optimal strategy for the production of SCFAs. Our findings demonstrated that this strain might be considered a promising candidate for future use as a probiotic to promote health benefits.

Customized materials-assisted microorganisms in tumor therapeutics

Microorganisms have been extensively applied as active biotherapeutic agents or drug delivery vehicles for antitumor treatment because of their unparalleled bio-functionalities. Taking advantage of the living attributes of microorganisms, a new avenue has been opened in anticancer research. The integration of customized functional materials with living microorganisms has demonstrated unprecedented potential in solving existing questions and even conferring microorganisms with updated antitumor abilities and has also provided an innovative train of thought for enhancing the efficacy of microorganism-based tumor therapy. In this review, we have summarized the emerging development of customized materials-assisted microorganisms (MAMO) (including bacteria, viruses, fungi, microalgae, as well as their components) in tumor therapeutics with an emphasis on the rational utilization of chosen microorganisms and tailored materials, the ingenious design of biohybrid systems, and the efficacious antitumor mechanisms. The future perspectives and challenges in this field are also discussed.

The human microbiome and its link in prostate cancer risk and pathogenesis

There is growing evidence of the microbiome's role in human health and disease since the human microbiome project. The microbiome plays a vital role in influencing cancer risk and pathogenesis. Several studies indicate microbial pathogens to account for over 15-20% of all cancers. Furthermore, the interaction of the microbiota, especially the gut microbiota in influencing response to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy remains an area of active research. Certain microbial species have been linked to the improved clinical outcome when on different cancer therapies. The recent discovery of the urinary microbiome has enabled the study to understand its connection to genitourinary malignancies, especially prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in males worldwide. Therefore research into understanding the factors and mechanisms associated with prostate cancer etiology, pathogenesis, and disease progression is of utmost importance. In this review, we explore the current literature concerning the link between the gut and urinary microbiome and prostate cancer risk and pathogenesis.

Epigenetic profiling of MUTYH, KLF6, WNT1 and KLF4 genes in carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is distinguished by epigenetic elements like DNA methylation, histone modification, histone acetylation and RNA remodeling which is related with genomic instability and tumor initiation. Correspondingly, as a main epigenetic regulation, DNA methylation has an impressive ability in order to be used in CRC targeted therapy. Meaningly, DNA methylation is identified as one of most important epigenetic regulators in gene expression and is considered as a notable potential driver in tumorigenesis and carcinogenesis through gene-silencing of tumor suppressors genes. Abnormal methylation situation, even in the level of promoter regions, does not essentially change the gene expression levels, particularly if the gene was become silenced, leaving the mechanisms of methylation without any response. According to the methylation situation which has a strong eagerness to be highly altered on CpG islands in carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis, considering its epigenetic fluctuations in finding new biomarkers is of great importance. Modifications in DNA methylation pattern and also enrichment of methylated histone signs in the promoter regions of some certain genes like MUTYH, KLF4/6 and WNT1 in different signaling pathways could be a notable key contributors to the upregulation of tumor initiation in CRC. These epigenetic alterations could be employed as a practical diagnostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer. In this review, we will be discuss these fluctuations of MUTYH, KLF4/6 and WNT1 genes in CRC.