Objective: To confirm the effectivity of Bifidobacterium infantis-mediated herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase/ganciclovir suicide gene system on the treatment of renal cell carcinoma in nude mice and further explore the mechanisms.
Materials and methods: A B infantis thymidine kinase (B infantis-TK) suicide gene system was constructed in our previous study. Tumor-bearing nude mice were randomized into 4 groups and injected with normal saline, B infantis, B infantis/pGEX-1λT, and B infantis-TK, respectively, via tail vein, followed by intraperitoneal injection of ganciclovir. The treatment effects were evaluated by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxynucleotide triphosphate nick end labeling assay, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and Western blotting. Side effects were also recorded.
Results: Compared with the other 3 treatments, the treatment with B infantis-TK resulted in a significant effective antitumor activity and stronger apoptotic response. Western blot analysis showed that the expression levels of Rel A and Bcl-xL were significantly lower, whereas those of caspase 3 and Bax were significantly higher in tumor tissues resected from group B infantis-TK, which were consistent with the quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction results.
Conclusion: The B infantis-TK/ganciclovir therapy system exhibits an effective antitumor activity by promoting tumor cell apoptosis through both the intrinsic and the extrinsic apoptotic pathways.
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