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

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 analyzing 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 expression 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.

Characterization of Wnt signaling pathway under treatment of Lactobacillus acidophilus postbiotic in colorectal cancer using an integrated in silico and in vitro analysis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent and life-threatening cancer closely associated with the gut microbiota. Probiotics, as a vital microbiota group, interact with the host's colonic epithelia and immune cells by releasing a diverse range of metabolites named postbiotics. The present study examined the effects of postbiotics on CRC's prominent differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using in silico and in vitro analysis. Through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), we identified four DEGs in CRC, including secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1), secreted frizzled-related protein 2 (SFRP2), secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4), and matrix metallopeptidase 7 (MMP7). Enrichment analysis and ExpiMap, a novel deep learning-based method, determined that these DEGs are involved in the Wnt signaling pathway as a primary cascade in CRC. Also, spatial transcriptome analysis showed specific expression patterns of the SFRP2 gene in fibroblast cell type. The expression of selected DEGs was confirmed on CRC and normal adjacent tissues using Real-Time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Moreover, we examined the effects of postbiotics extracted from Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) on the proliferation, migration, and cell cycle distribution of HT-29 cells using MTT, scratch, and flow cytometry assays. Our results showed that L. acidophilus postbiotics induce cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and also had anti-proliferative and anti-migration effects on HT-29 cells, while it did not exert anti-proliferative activity on control fibroblasts. Finally, we revealed that treating HT-29 cells with postbiotics can affect the expression of selected DEGs. We suggested that L. acidophilus postbiotics have therapeutic potential in CRC by modulating key genes in the Wnt pathway.

The prevalence of HTLV-1 and its Co-Infection with HCV, HBV and HIV in Hemophilic patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Blood-borne infections, such as the HIV virus and hepatitis B and C, are major problems in patients receiving blood products. Here we examined the prevalence of HTLV-1, HCV, HBV, and HIV in hemophilic patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study on 108 hemophilic patients (101 males and 7 females) involved detection of HBV, HCV, HIV and HTLV-1 infections using immunoassays for HBsAg, hepatitis B core antibodies (anti-HBc), hepatitis C antibodies (anti-HCV), HIV antibodies (anti-HIV) and Anti-HTLV-1. Real-time PCR was used to measure HCV RNA, and HCV genotyping was performed by direct sequencing of the 5' noncoding region. RESULTS: Hemophilia A was reported in 93 (86%) patients with severe symptoms in 8 cases. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV and anti-HTLV-1 antibodies was 20% and 3% respectively. One patient with severe hemophilia had a HCV/HTLV-1 co-infection. HCV-RNA was detected in 82% of patients. In terms of genotyping prevalence was 56% HCV genotype 3a, 39% HCV genotype 1a, and 6% HCV genotype2. Anti HIV and HBsAg were not detected in any patient. HTLV1 prevalence was higher, HCV lower in South Khorasan than other regions in Iran or elsewhere. CONCLUSION: Management of transfusion of blood and blood products should account for the underlying prevalence of infectious agents.