Anticancer and Antiproliferative Effects of Combined Treatment with 5-Fluorouracil and Probiotic Lactobacillus Strains against Colorectal Cancer Cells

 The efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a chemotherapy drug for colorectal cancer (CRC) is well-established. However, due to resistance to 5-FU and its associated complications, it is necessary to search for adjuvant therapies against CRC. Considering the anticancer potential of probiotic metabolites, this study assessed the anticancer effects of potential probiotic strains isolated from mule milk, camel milk, and the standard probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), used alone and in combination with 5-FU, against the human colon cancer cell line (HT-29) and normal human embryonic kidney (HEK-293).

Biochemical and molecular techniques were implemented to identify the strains isolated from mule and camel milk. The MTT assay was also employed to assess the anticancer effects of the probiotic strains of Lactobacillus isolated from mule milk and camel milk and of LGG, used alone and in combination with 5-FU, on the two cell lines HT-29 and HEK-293. The data were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance, and significant differences between means were assessed using Tukey's post hoc test. Minitab 20 software performed all statistical calculations in the level of significance less than 0.05.

The results demonstrated the potential probiotic properties of all the studied Lactobacillus strains. The combination of cell extracts from Lactobacillus strains with 5-FU effectively reduced the viability of HT-29 cells.  Nonetheless, this combination can reduce the cytotoxic effects of 5-FU on the viability of HEK-293 cells, thereby increasing their viability.

These results point to the possibility of using Lactobacillus strain cell extracts as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment