L-Asparaginase delivered by Salmonella typhimurium suppresses solid tumors.
Bacteria can be engineered to deliver anticancer proteins to tumors via a controlled expression system that maximizes the concentration of the therapeutic agent in the tumor. L-asparaginase (L-ASNase), which primarily converts asparagine to aspartate, is an anticancer protein used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In this study, Salmonellae were engineered to express L-ASNase selectively within tumor tissues using the inducible araBAD promoter system of Escherichia coli. Antitumor efficacy of the engineered bacteria was demonstrated in vivo in solid malignancies. This result demonstrates the merit of bacteria as cancer drug delivery vehicles to administer cancer-starving proteins such as L-ASNase to be effective selectively within the microenvironment of cancer tissue.
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Kwangsoo
K
Kim
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Jae Ho
JH
Jeong
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Daejin
D
Lim
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Yeongjin
Y
Hong
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Hyung-Ju
HJ
Lim
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Chonnam National University , Gwangju, Korea.
Geun-Joong
GJ
Kim
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Chonnam National University , Gwangju, Korea.
So-Ra
SR
Shin
Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Jeollanamdo, Republic of Korea.
Je-Jung
JJ
Lee
Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Jeollanamdo, Republic of Korea.
Misun
M
Yun
Roudebush VA Medical Center and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine , Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Robert A
RA
Harris
Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Jeollanamdo, Republic of Korea.
Jung-Joon
JJ
Min
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine, Chonnam National University Graduate School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Hyon E
HE
Choy