Newswise — Researchers probing the next frontiers in cancer therapy have turned to bacteria given their ability to inhibit tumor proliferation by colonizing tumors. Crucially, the Achilles heel of this approach is suboptimal treatment efficiency caused by the bacteria-induced inflammatory response. The concern is the ensuing signaling cascade spurs cyclooxygenase II (COX-2) upregulation in the tumor microenvironment.
COX-2 promotes anti-apoptotic gene expression in tumor cells and resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. To overcome this limitation, researchers are exploring how engineered bacteria can optimize the process of tumor colonization and targeted drug delivery while maximizing biosafety. Salmonella engineered to target tumors have delivered positive results in the laboratory but were highly toxic and produced insufficient therapeutic effects in clinical trials.
Moving forward, the developments being pursued to improve the efficiency of these bacterial vectors include surface modifications, molecular modifications, and chemical encapsulation. Recently, a team of researchers in China engineered a strain of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) with liposomes to deliver an anticancer drug and explored its ability to colonize the tumor microenvironment.
The team was helmed by Dr. Jiaofang Huang from the State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology . “The tumor microenvironment is hypoxic (oxygen deprived) so it lends.
