Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Review Article

The Role of Probiotics in Colorectal Cancer Management

Table 1

Key results of in vitro studies on probiotics and colorectal cancer.


Experimental model	Supplements (probiotics)	Key results	References

LS513 cells	Live or inactive L. acidophilus, L. casei (1 × 10⁶–1 × 10⁹ CFU/mL), and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 100 µg/ml)	Dose-dependent enhancement of apoptotic activity of 5-FU. Exposure of 10⁸ CFU/mL ↑ apoptotic efficiency (40%) ↑ activation of caspase-3 ↓ p21 expression	[22]

HCT-116 cells	CFS from L. casei and L. rhamnosus GG (25% v/v)	↓ cell invasion ↓ MMP-9 ↑ ZO-1	[23]

HGC-27, and DLD-1 cells	Live or heat-killed L. paracasei IMPC2.1 and L. rhamnosus GG (1 × 10⁸ CFU/ml)	Inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis	[24]

CaCo-2 cells	CFS (5, 10, 20%) and bacterial extract (1, 5%) of L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 and L. casei ATCC 39392	↓ cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ↑ apoptosis	[25]

5-FU-resistant HT-29 and HCT-116 cells	L. plantarum CFS (10 μg) and 5-FU (50 μM)	↓ expression of CD44, CD133, CD166, and ALDH1 ↑ caspase-3 activity ↓ Wnt/β-catenin signaling ↓ size and formation of colonospheres	[26]

HT-29 cells	CFS or metabolites of Propionibacterium freudenreichii ITG P9 with TRAIL and ITG P9-mediated fermented milk with TRAIL	↑ proapoptotic gene expression ↓ antiapoptotic gene expression, TRAIL-R1/DR4, TRAIL-R2/DR5, and caspase-dependent proapoptotic activity	[27]

HT-29 cells	CFS and cells of Lactobacillus strains (L. brevis PM150, L. plantarum PM153, L. brevis PM177, L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgarius BCRC10696, L. reuteri BCRC14625, L. salivarius BCRC14759, and L. johnsonii BCRC17010)	↑ nitric oxide secretion ↑ proapoptosis ↑ lactate dehydrogenase and inhibited the growth of HT-29 cells	[28]

CaCo-2 cells	L. acidophilus ATCC 314 and L. fermentum NCIMB 5221	↓ cell proliferation ↑ apoptosis	[29]

HT-29, and Caco-2 cells	Methanolic extract of metabolites of Pichia kudriavzevii AS-12 (65 and 75 μg/ml)	Cytotoxic to cancer cells ↑ apoptosis	[30]

HT-29 cells	CFS from Saccharomyces cerevisiae	↑ PTEN, Caspas3 expression and ↓ Bclxl and RelA expression at 24 h posttreatment ↓ cell growth	[31]

Human colonic smooth muscle strips	CFS, live cells and microbial fractions of L. acidophilus HB56003, S. thermophilus HB5621, E. faecalis HB62001, and B. longum HB55020.	Inhibited the contractility of colonic smooth muscle strips	[32]

MMP-9: matrix metalloproteinase-9; ZO-1: zona occludens-1; CFS: cell-free supernatant; 5-FU: 5-fluorouracil; TRAIL; TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand.