We have developed a bacterial cancer therapy strategy using the genetically-engineered strain Salmonella typhimurium A1-R (A1-R). A1-R is auxotrophic for leu and arg which attenuates bacterial growth in normal tissue but allows high tumor virulence. A1-R is effective against metastatic human and murine cancer cell lines in clinically-relevant nude-mouse models. However, A1-R treatment of tumors in immunocompetent mouse models with high doses is limited by toxicity. The current study evaluated a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbal mixture in combination with A1-R therapy in a syngeneic metastatic immunocompetent mouse model of highly aggressive lung cancer. In a model of Lewis lung carcinoma, the combination of a TCM herbal mixture and S. typhimurium A1-R enabled bacteria to be safely administered at the large dose of 2 × 10(7) colony forming units once a week i.v. with increased treatment efficacy and reduced toxicity compared to monotherapy with A1-R. The herbal mixture prevented body weight loss, spleen weight gain and liver infection by A1-R, as well as hemorrhagic lesions on the skin, liver, and spleen, all observed with A1-R monotherapy. The results of the present study suggest that the combination of A1-R and TCM has important potential for therapy of highly aggressive types of cancer, including those which are resistant to standard therapy.
Keywords: C57/BL6 mice; GFP; Lewis lung carcinoma; RFP; Salmonella typhimurium A1-R; TCM; combination; tumor targeting.