Medicine in Microecology最新文献

Introduction

Areas covered

Conclusion

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Probiotics are microbes associated with a wide range of health benefits and modulate gut flora by releasing effector molecules. The efficacy of probiotics at various stages of cancer treatment has been well demonstrated. Probiotics can increase the potency of cancer-based immunotherapy, which can be administered before, during, or post-phase therapy. The consumption of probiotics among cancer patients can minimize the detrimental effects of chemotherapy and act as a potential tool for cancer therapy. Genetically engineered probiotics can express specific antigens that can combat cancer and deadly pathogens. These essential features of probiotics can be utilized in cancer treatment and for other applications. This review aims to provide updated information on the mechanism of action of probiotics and their applications in cancer therapy. Moreover, a few other significant applications like; antioxidative therapy, biotechnology-based improvement, and developing potent probiotic strains for effective cancer treatment are also discussed.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a prominent hospital-associated bacterium whose eradication is increasingly challenging due to its remarkable ability to resist antibiotics. The most common illnesses caused by antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii are biofilm-associated. Therefore, novel methods to combat A. baumannii are urgently needed. Application of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is one of the avenues to be explored. Epsilon poly-l-lysine (ε-PL) is an antimicrobial peptide with low mammalian toxicity. It is commonly used as a food preservative and has advantages such as biodegradability, good water solubility, and thermal stability.

Therefore, the antimicrobial activity of ε-PL against clinical isolates of A. baumannii was investigated. The effect of ε-PL on antimicrobial sensitivity was determined by broth dilution assay. The effect of ε-PL on biofilm formation and dispersion was studied using a crystal violet assay. The changes in the expression of quorum sensing related and virulence genes (abaI, csuE, pilT, bap, and luxI) were analyzed using qPCR by the Δ Δ CT method.

All the A. baumannii clinical isolates (n = 28) tested, were resistant to multiple drugs. The treatment with ε-PL resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the biofilm formation abilities of all the clinical isolates of A. baumannii. Also, ε-PL caused a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the dispersion of preformed biofilms. The reduction in the biofilm formation could be attributed to the inhibition of autoinducer synthase (abaI) which is required for biofilm development in A. baumannii. Also, it could be due to altering of expression of biofilm-related genes like csuE, pilT, bap, and luxI. These results suggest that ε-PL could be effective in the elimination of A. baumannii biofilms and decreasing its virulence.

Striae distensae (SD), commonly known as Stretch marks or striae, are one of the most common benign dermal lesions frequently seen in females that often cause a significant physical and psychological impact. A number of treatment modalities ranging from topicals to invasive approaches are commercially available, however, none of the available options is capable of complete eradication of SD. As effectiveness of most of the available topical formulations for SD is attributed to the combined effects of their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and proliferative effects, allicin and probiotic based topical formulations are hypothesized to be effective in treatment and prevention of SD. Both allicin and probiotics are able to reduce the inflammatory response via suppression of transcription factor i.e., nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines levels. Moreover, the antioxidant effect of allicin and probiotics is considered to decrease the reactive oxygen species induced fragmentation of collagen. Also, the effects of allicin on the collagen and elastin tissue as well as beneficial effects of probiotics and their metabolites on skin elasticity and skin hydration are expected to provide multiple target approach for the management of SD. Altogether, a combination formulation containing both allicin and probiotics is considered to be novel approach for the prevention and management of SD.

The microbiota based dietary interventions have emerged as an unconventional bacteriotherapeutic approach for the treatment of a plethora of pathological conditions including inflammatory bowel disease. The potential side effects associated with the use of probiotics include systemic infections, deleterious metabolic activities, excessive immune stimulation in susceptible individuals and gene transfer. Moreover, probiotic strains are not very specific in offering health benefits and it is generally considered that a group of such bacteria are more effective than a single strain. Based on this assumption, fecal matter transplantation was proposed as a better alternative. Despite proving to be very effective in certain diseases, fecal microbiota transplantation has not found wide acceptability because of its poor aesthetic appeal, associated risk for infection transmission, and challenges in standardization and regulation policies. Bacterial consortia, however, emerge as multi-strain, more specific biotherapeutic agents with known composition of probiotics that are free from any risk for infections or uncertain metabolic processes. These are a group of complex microbial communities having ecological interactions among themselves. While offering therapeutic profile similar to fecal matter transplantation, bacterial consortia are free from the associated side effects. Bacterial consortia have demonstrated significant effectiveness in treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Inflammatory bowel disease represents multifactorial inflammatory ailments comprising of both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It is generally attributed to disturbance in immunological and environmental factors while genetic factors are also known to play their role. Among all of the above, changes in gut microbiota (dysbiosis) is the main causative agent in etiology of inflammatory bowel disease. Therefore, changing the composition of microbiota through bacterial consortium offers a realistic option for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. In this review, we decipher the relationship between dysbiosis and pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. We also discuss various challenges regarding the use of bacterial consortia as inflammatory bowel disease therapy. Diving deeper, the pre-clinical and clinical studies conducted hitherto are also described. The potential and limitations of this emerging biotherapeutic approach are also discussed. Considering the worldwide prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease and constant struggle to find a safe, economical and convenient cure for it, bacterial consortia could be an attractive strategy.