Probiotics, As New Agents For Cancer Therapy

Cancer, the uncontrolled growth of cells, is known as the second cause of death in the world. Due to its increasing prevalence and the many side effects that traditional treatments have, there is a growing attention to develop more effective and less harmful treatment options. The immunosuppressive environment is known as one of the obstacles to the treatment of most cancers. Fortunately, with the formation of treatments based on immune cells and changing this environment, significant progress has been made in cancer treatment. Probiotics are microorganisms that can benefit the host when consumed in the right dose. For example, food competition with pathogens of the digestive tract, production of bactericidal compounds and removal of pathogens, production of SCFAs, and increase in the integrity of epithelial cells are among these effects. There are many studies on the role of food probiotics in the prevention of gastrointestinal cancers, but nowadays the role of probiotics in changing immune cells is attracting more attention from researchers, Therefore, efforts are being made to directly use probiotics in cancer treatment. First of all, what should be kept in mind about these microorganisms is their wide variety and following this variety, they also have different effects on immune cells. Macrophages are one of the most important cells present in the tumor microenvironment and by being polarized to M۲, they can suppress the immune responses against the tumor. Studies on the role of probiotics on the polarization of macrophages have been done a lot, for example, findings point to the role of Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SC۰۶ species on the development of the anti-tumor M۱ phenotype. DC cells are also not excluded from the effects of probiotics, and it seems that these cells mature and provide better antigen presentation when exposed to some probiotics. In addition to the mentioned cells, other cells of the immune system, especially B and T cells, can also have different responses in the vicinity of different species. Considering the role of probiotics in regulating the response of the immune system and their ability to colonization and live in hypoxic conditions, these microorganisms can be used in different ways to fight against cancer, such as what was said, orally to prevent cancer, or they can be used alive or killed as drug carriers, adjuvant or genetically modified for antigen production . For example, probiotics can used as carriers of nanoparticles containing CRISPR Cas ۹ system. The purpose of this this review is only to improve the attitude of using probiotics beyond their oral use for the development of probiotic-based vaccines. Although these microorganisms can be colonization in the tumor hypoxic and acidic environment, the risks of septicemia and infection in a non-tumor site cannot be ruled out with certainty, and more studies are needed in this matter.

کلیدواژه ها:

probiotic ، cancer thrapy ، cancer vaccine