Abstract
Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common types of cancer that affects the gastrointestinal tract and the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells is generally one of the suitable methods for treating cancer. Salmonella typhi induces apoptosis by activating the caspase pathway.
Methods: This experimental study was conducted on a standard strain and the bacteria were cultured on an SS-Agar medium. Then, sonication was used to isolate bacterial proteins and ZellBio was utilized to determine the concentration of such proteins. In addition, 1 million cells per well were cultivated in the cell culture plate in order to treat the cell line with bacteria and to examine the expression of the Bax and Bcl-2 genes. Then, RNA was extracted and cDNA was synthesized after 24 hours of incubation. The Bax and Bcl-2 genes were expressed by Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results: The findings confirmed the role of Salmonella typhi proteins in inducing apoptosis in a pancreatic cancer cell. In other words, the concentration of 10 mg Salmonella typhi proteins increased the expression of the Bax gene while reducing the expression of the Bcl-2 gene.
Conclusions: Overall, bacterial treatments have unique mechanisms for treating cancer. For example, bacteria can specifically target the tumors, actively penetrate into the tissue, and potentially form a controlled form of toxicity. Accordingly, further studies are recommended to investigate the role of bacteria, especially Salmonella in the treatment of cancer cells.