Propionibacterium freudenreichii as potential adjuvant for chemotherapy in digestive cancers

Food-grade dairy propionibacteria release beneficial short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), folic acid and cobalamin. They induce apoptosis via the mitochondrial death pathway. We investigated their synergy with drugs used in gastric and colorectal cancer. Fermented milk containing propionibacteria and SCFAS acetate and propionate, as well as its cell-free supernatant, induced apoptosis in gastric HGT-1 and colic HT-29. Characterization of cells revealed apoptosis induction evidenced by chromatin condensation, DNA laddering, emergence of a subG1 population, phosphatidylserine exposure at the plasma membrane outer leaflet and cytochrome c release. Interestingly, the fermented milk was shown to potentiate the cytotoxic effect of molecules used in cancer chemotherapy, camptothecin and TRAIL (TNF Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand). These results open new perspectives in the field of colon cancer cells prevention and/or treatment. Such a fermented product, or the propionibacterium alone, may be proposed as a food supplement to enhance the effects of anticancer treatments.