Bifidobacterium longum as an oral delivery system of endostatin for gene therapy on solid liver cancer

Cancer Gene Ther. 2005 Feb;12(2):133-40. doi: 10.1038/sj.cgt.7700758.

Abstract

To overcome difficulties that hampered widespread application of a specific delivery system in cancer gene therapy and to inhibit the growth of solid liver cancer, we utilized a strain of Bifidobacterium longum as a delivery system to transport an endostatin gene that can inhibit growth of tumor. The B. longum strain with the endostatin gene (B. longum-En) was taken orally by tumor-bearing nude mice through drencher preparation. The results showed that B. longum-En could strongly inhibit the growth of solid liver tumor in nude mice and prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing nude mice. Furthermore, tumor growth was inhibited more efficiently when the B. longum-En treatment included selenium. Enriching the B. longum-En treatment with selenium improves the activity of NK and T cells and stimulates the activity of IL-2 and TNF-alpha in BALB/c mice. These results suggest that B. longum may be a highly specific and efficient vector for transporting anticancer genes in cancer gene therapy.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Animals
  • Bifidobacterium / physiology*
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Endostatins / administration & dosage*
  • Genetic Therapy*
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Interleukin-2 / metabolism
  • Killer Cells, Natural / immunology
  • Killer Cells, Natural / metabolism
  • Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / genetics
  • Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / microbiology
  • Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / therapy*
  • Lymphoma / genetics
  • Lymphoma / microbiology
  • Lymphoma / therapy
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Nude
  • Selenium / therapeutic use
  • Survival Rate
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism

Substances

  • Endostatins
  • Interleukin-2
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Selenium