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Streptococcal bacterial components in cancer therapy

Cancer Gene Therapy volume 29, pages 141–155 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The incidence rate of cancer is steadily increasing all around the world, and there is an urgent need to develop novel and more effective treatment strategies. Recently, bacterial therapy has been investigated as a new approach to target cancer, and is becoming a serious option. Streptococcus strains are among the most common and well-studied virulent bacteria that cause a variety of human infections. Everyone has experienced a sore throat during their lifetime, or has been asymptomatically colonized by streptococci. The ability of Streptococcus bacteria to fight cancer was discovered more than 100 years ago, and over the years has undergone clinical trials, but the mechanism is not yet completely understood. Recently, several animal models and human clinical trials have been reported. Streptococcal strains can have an intrinsic anti-tumor activity, or can activate the host immune system to fight the tumor. Bacteria can selectively accumulate and proliferate in the hypoxic regions of solid tumors. Moreover, the bacteria can be genetically engineered to secrete toxins or enzymes that can specifically attack the tumors.

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Fig. 1: Anti-cancer and carcinogenic effects of different bacteria.
Fig. 2: Primary structures of bovicin HC5 and nisin.

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The primary data for this study is available from the authors on request.

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Funding

MRH was supported by US NIH Grants R01AI050875 and R21AI121700.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

    Zeynab Marzhoseyni & Mahmood Safari

  2. Research Center for Liver Diseases, Keck School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Layla Shojaie

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed Alireza Tabatabaei

  4. Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Ahmad Movahedpour

  5. Department of Microbiology and Applied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute and Department of Microbiology, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Davoud Esmaeili

  6. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Maryam Mahjoubin-Tehran & Amin Jalili

  7. School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

    Korosh Morshedi

  8. Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, 23200, Pakistan

    Haroon Khan

  9. Department of Medical Sciences, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran

    Ranaa Okhravi

  10. Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, 2028, South Africa

    Michael R. Hamblin

  11. Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

    Hamed Mirzaei

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  1. Zeynab Marzhoseyni
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Contributions

HM and MRH contributed in conception, design, statistical analysis and drafting of the manuscript. RO, ZM, LSH, SAT, MS, DE, MM-T, AJ, AM, and KM contributed in data collection and manuscript drafting. All authors approved the final version for submission.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ranaa Okhravi, Michael R. Hamblin or Hamed Mirzaei.

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Conflict of interest

MRH declares the following potential conflicts of interest. Scientific Advisory Boards: Transdermal Cap Inc, Cleveland, OH; BeWell Global Inc, Wan Chai, Hong Kong; Hologenix Inc. Santa Monica, CA; LumiTheraInc, Poulsbo, WA; Vielight, Toronto, Canada; Bright Photomedicine, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Quantum Dynamics LLC, Cambridge, MA; Global Photon Inc, Bee Cave, TX; Medical Coherence, Boston MA; NeuroThera, Newark DE; JOOVV Inc, Minneapolis-St. Paul MN; AIRx Medical, Pleasanton CA; FIR Industries, Inc. Ramsey, NJ; UVLRx Therapeutics, Oldsmar, FL; Ultralux UV Inc, Lansing MI; Illumiheal&Petthera, Shoreline, WA; MB Lasertherapy, Houston, TX; ARRC LED, San Clemente, CA; Varuna Biomedical Corp. Incline Village, NV; Niraxx Light Therapeutics, Inc, Boston, MA. Consulting; Lexington Int, Boca Raton, FL; USHIO Corp, Japan; Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; Philips Electronics Nederland B.V. Eindhoven, Netherlands; Johnson & Johnson Inc, Philadelphia, PA; Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Stockholdings: Global Photon Inc, Bee Cave, TX; Mitonix, Newark, DE. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Marzhoseyni, Z., Shojaie, L., Tabatabaei, S.A. et al. Streptococcal bacterial components in cancer therapy. Cancer Gene Ther 29, 141–155 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41417-021-00308-6

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