Investigating the therapeutic potential of Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus rhamnosus postbiotics through apoptosis induction in colorectal HT-29 cancer cells

Nafiseh Erfanian; Hossein Safarpour; Tahmineh Tavakoli; Mohammad Ali Mahdiabadi; Saeed Nasseri; Mohammad Hassan Namaei

doi:10.18502/ijm.v16i1.14873

Nafiseh Erfanian Student Research Committee, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Hossein Safarpour Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Tahmineh Tavakoli Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Mohammad Ali Mahdiabadi Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Saeed Nasseri Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Mohammad Hassan Namaei Infectious Diseases Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v16i1.14873

Keywords: Apoptosis; Bifidobacterium breve; Colorectal cancer; Lactobacillus rhamnosus; Postbiotics; Probiotics

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent form of cancer worldwide. Recent studies suggest that postbiotics derived from probiotic bacteria have the potential as an adjunct therapy for CRC. This study investigates the anti-cancer effects of Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) postbiotics on the HT-29 cell line.

Materials and Methods: Through MTT and scratch assay, we investigated the anti-proliferation and anti-migration effects of B. breve and L. rhamnosus postbiotics on HT-29 cells. Furthermore, postbiotic-mediated apoptosis was assessed by ana- lyzing the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3. We also investigated the effects of B. breve postbiotics on the expression of three important genes involved in metastasis, including RSPO2, NGF, and MMP7. Consequently, we validated the expres- sion of selected genes in twelve adenocarcinoma tissues.

Results: The results demonstrated the significant impact of postbiotics on HT-29 cells, highlighting their ability to induce anti-proliferation, anti-migration, and apoptosis-related effects. Notably, these effects were more pronounced using B. breve postbiotics than L. rhamnosus. Additionally, B. breve postbiotics could inhibit metastasis through upregulation of RSPO2 while downregulating NGF and MMP7 expression in HT-29 cells.

Conclusion: Our research suggests that postbiotic metabolites may be effective biological products for the prevention and treatment of cancer.