Your mouth is not just about teeth and gums; it has the second largest and diverse microbiota after the gut, hosting more than 700 species of bacteria. Interestingly, up to 20% of all human cancers are associated with microbial organisms, which can induce tumor-promoting chronic inflammation. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is an opportunistic Gram-negative periodontopathogen strongly associated with periodontitis and infective endocarditis. Now, our group has furthered the current understanding of how oral bacteria can influence cancer.
In a recently published study, we showed that certain periodonto-pathogens can influence the initiation and progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Interestingly, we showed that A. actinomycetemcomitans-derived vesicles reduced the metastatic cancer cell proliferation, invasion, tubulogenesis, and increased their programmed cell death. Moreover, vesicles from F. nucleatum impaired the metastatic cancer cell proliferation and induced the apoptosis rates in all OSCC cells. Our findings revealed a promising antitumorigenic effect of these bacterial vesicles on metastatic cancer cells, which warrants further in vivo investigations.
Read our original study free here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00203-024-03976-8
Cite this article: Metsäniitty, M., Hasnat, S., Öhman, C. et al. Extracellular vesicles from Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans exhibit potential antitumorigenic effects in oral cancer: a comparative in vitro study. Arch Microbiol 206, 244 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-024-03976-8
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