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Updated: Jul 20, 2025
Characterization and Functional Prediction of Bacteria in Ovarian Tissues
Published on: October 23, 2021
Anticancer Effect of Enterococcus faecium, Isolated from Vaginal Fluid, on Ovarian Cancer Cells
Soraya Pourmollaei1,2, Azizeh Farshbaf-Khalili3, Abolfazl Barzegari4
1Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Background:
Given the association between cervicovaginal microbiota and OVC, we investigated the effect of Enterococcus faecium conditioned medium (CM) on OVC (Caov-4) cells.
Methods:
CM was obtained from the bacterium E. faecium isolated from the vagina of healthy women. The Caov-4 cells were treated with varying concentrations of CM that comprised co-cultured bacteria with 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 OD for 12, 24, and 48 h. The apoptosis and growth of cancer cells were evaluated by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, flow cytometry, and DNA laddering assay. Moreover, the expression of PTEN, BAX, BCL2, and AKT1 genes were analyzed using real-time PCR.
Results:
The CM at a concentration of 0.5 OD from the cultured bacteria and incubation time of 48 h showed the highest negative effect on the viability of cancer cells. The CM treatment increased DNA fragmentation and also induced apoptosis in Caov-4 cells. Interestingly, CM could decrease the expression of proapoptotic genes were less, while antiapoptotic genes were more than fluorouracil in the presence of CM.
Conclusion:
CM of human-derived E. faecium could have an anticancer effect on OVC cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. This study demonstrated that E. faecium secretes anticancer substances into the CM, which could directly affect the viability and apoptosis of cancer cells.
