AUTHOR=Bi Zhiqian , Cui Enqing , Yao Yingying , Chang Xiaoyao , Wang Xiaoyang , Zhang Yuhui , Xu Gen-Xing , Zhuang Hongqin , Hua Zi-Chun 

TITLE=Recombinant Bifidobacterium longum Carrying Endostatin Protein Alleviates Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Colitis and Colon Cancer in Rats

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.927277

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.927277

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Bifidobacterium</italic> has been widely administrated orally as probiotics to prevent pathogen colonization and modulate the gut microbiome balance. Endostatin is an endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis and has been shown to inhibit tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. At present, the combination of endostatin and chemotherapeutic drugs has been regarded as a promising antitumor treatment strategy. In this study, we selected a safe strain of <italic>Bifidobacterium longum</italic> as a delivery system to transport endostatin to the gastrointestinal tract and explored their combined effect on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colitis-associated cancer. The results indicated that <italic>B. longum-Endo</italic> relieved dextran sulfate sodium-induced body weight loss, diarrhea, colon shortening, and epithelium damage. Long-term oral administration of <italic>B. longum-Endo</italic> significantly decreased tumor formation rate, tumor number, and tumor size. Moreover, the effect of <italic>B. longum-Endo</italic> on gut microbiota dysbiosis was also confirmed by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. The levels of potentially beneficial bacteria, such as <italic>Lactobacillus</italic>, <italic>Bifidobacterium</italic>, <italic>Allobaculum</italic>, and <italic>Parabateroides</italic>, were increased in the <italic>B. longum-Endo</italic> group compared to the model and <italic>B. longum</italic> groups. Meanwhile, levels of potentially pathogenic bacteria including <italic>Desulfovibrio</italic>, <italic>Helicobacter</italic>, and <italic>Enterorhabdus</italic> were decreased. Taken together, these results suggested that oral administration of recombinant <italic>B. longum-Endo</italic> strain may be a promising therapeutic strategy for IBD and colitis-associated cancer.</p>