Microbial cancer therapeutics: A promising approach

Deepti Diwan; Lei Cheng; Zeba Usmani; Minaxi Sharma; Nicola Holden; Nicholas Willoughby; Neelam Sangwan; Rama Raju Baadhe; Chenchen Liu; Vijai Kumar Gupta

doi:10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.05.003

Microbial cancer therapeutics: A promising approach

Semin Cancer Biol. 2022 Nov;86(Pt 3):931-950. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.05.003. Epub 2021 May 9.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Washington University, School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
² Department of Pulmonary, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 230032, China.
³ Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia.
⁴ Department of Food Technology, Akal College of Agriculture, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, 173101, India.
⁵ Centre for Safe and Improved Food, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK.
⁶ Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics and Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry, Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh, Haryana, 123031, India.
⁸ Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, 506004, India.
⁹ Department of Gastric Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China. Electronic address: liuchch@126.com.
¹⁰ Centre for Safe and Improved Food, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK; Biorefining and Advanced Materials Research Center, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Kings Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK. Electronic address: vijaifzd@gmail.com.

PMID: 33979677
DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.05.003

Abstract

The success of conventional cancer therapeutics is hindered by associated dreadful side-effects of antibiotic resistance and the dearth of antitumor drugs' selectivity and specificity. Hence, the conceptual evolution of anti-cancerous therapeutic agents that selectively target cancer cells without impacting the healthy cells or tissues, has led to a new wave of scientific interest in microbial-derived bioactive molecules. Such strategic solutions may pave the way to surmount the shortcomings of conventional therapies and raise the potential and hope for the cure of wide range of cancer in a selective manner. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of anti-carcinogenic properties and underlying mechanisms of bioactive molecules of microbial origin, and discuss the current challenges and effective therapeutic application of combinatorial strategies to attain minimal systemic side-effects.

Keywords: Bacteriocins; Bioactive molecules; Cancer; Genetically engineered microbes; Microbial therapy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
Antineoplastic Agents* / therapeutic use
Humans
Neoplasms* / drug therapy

Substances

Antineoplastic Agents