Mycolicibacterium brumae is a safe and non-toxic immunomodulatory agent for cancer treatment

Marc Bach-Griera, Víctor Campo-Pérez, Sandra Barbosa, Sara Traserra, Sandra Guallar-Garrido, Laura Moya-Andérico, Paula Herrero-Abadía, Marina Luquin, Rosa Maria Rabanal, Eduard Torrents, Esther Julián*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Intravesical Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy remains the gold-standard treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients, even though half of the patients develop adverse events to this therapy. On exploring BCG-alternative therapies, Mycolicibacterium brumae, a nontuberculous mycobacterium, has shown outstanding anti-tumor and immunomodulatory capabilities. As no infections due to M. brumae in humans, animals, or plants have been described, the safety and/or toxicity of this mycobacterium have not been previously addressed. In the present study, an analysis was made of M. brumae- and BCG-intravenously-infected severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice, M. brumae-intravesically-treated BALB/c mice, and intrahemacoelic-infected-Galleria mellonella larvae. Organs from infected mice and the hemolymph from larvae were processed to count bacterial burden. Blood samples from mice were also taken, and a wide range of hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed. Finally, histopathological alterations in mouse tissues were evaluated. Our results demonstrate the safety and non-toxic profile of M. brumae. Differences were observed in the biochemical, hematological and histopathological analysis between M. brumae and BCG-infected mice, as well as survival curves rates and colony forming units (CFU) counts in both animal models. M. brumae constitutes a safe therapeutic biological agent, overcoming the safety and toxicity disadvantages presented by BCG in both mice and G. mellonella animal models.

Original languageAmerican English
Article number198
JournalVaccines
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Apr 2020

Keywords

  • BCG
  • Bladder cancer
  • Galleria mellonella
  • Mice
  • Nontuberculous mycobacteria
  • Safety

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mycolicibacterium brumae is a safe and non-toxic immunomodulatory agent for cancer treatment'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this