Investigating the Anticancer Properties of Bacterial Toxoid in Combination Vaccines

The use of bacterial vaccines as a potential Bacterial-Based Cancer Therapy (BBCT) presents an innovative approach, transforming these vaccines into multifunctional tools capable of serving dual roles in medicine.

This study aimed to conduct in vitro, immunity-independent experiments to investigate the anticancer properties of vaccine-derived bacterial toxoids on various cancer cell lines. Six concentrations of the DTP vaccine (5 x 10-4, 25 x 10-5, 125 x 10-6, 625 x 10-7, 312 x 10-7, and 15 x 10-6 µg/ml) were tested on two cancer cell lines (SKG and HCAM) and a normal Rat Embryonic Fibroblast (REF) cell line. The cytotoxic effects were evaluated using the Crystal Violet assay to determine the percentage of cell death for each toxoid concentration, leading to the calculation of IC50 values. Apoptotic effects and other cytopathological changes were observed under an inverted microscope.

The findings revealed significant toxic effects of the bacterial toxoid on the SKG and HCAM cancer cell lines (p < 0.001). In contrast, the toxic effects on the normal REF cell line were evident only at the highest toxoid concentrations. Microscopic analysis showed marked cytological changes in cancer cells treated with the toxoid, with minimal impact on normal cells.