Table 1.
Gut microbiota and breast microbiota produce fatty acid metabolites that have anti-cancer effects.
| Bacteria | Location | Fatty Acid Metabolite |
Associated Anti-Cancer Mechanism |
References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bifidobacterium spp. (Actinobacteria) |
gut | Docosahexaenoic acid, Eicosapentanoic acid, Omega-3 PUFA, acetate, and formate |
Reduces expression of oncogenic miRNA-21, increases PTEN expression, suppresses cell proliferation by modulating Bcl-2 and procaspase-8. |
[30,31,32] |
|
Lactobacillus spp. (Lactobacillaceae) |
gut, breast | Conjugated linoleic acid, butyrate, acetate, and lactate |
Activates tumor suppressor genes p53, p21 and p27, suppress VEGF, induces G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. |
[33,34,35,36] |
|
Akkermansia municiphila (Verrucomicrobia) |
gut | Propionate, and acetate | Inhibits JAK/STAT3 pathway, activates p38 through oxidative phosphorylation and, therefore, promotes G0/G1 cell cycle arrest. |
[37,38] |
|
Bacillus cereus (Firmicutes) |
gut | 5-α -pregnane-3,20-dione, and butyrate |
Derived from progesterone metabolism, metabolite promotes cancer progression via increase in cell proliferation. |
[39] |
|
Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus lichenofirmes (Bacillota) |
gut | Propionate | Down-regulate STAT3 pathway. |
[40] |
|
Faecalibacterium praunitzii (Ruminococcaceae) |
gut, breast | Butyrate | Suppress cancer by inhibiting IL-6 and phosphorylation of JAK/STAT pathway proteins by promoting apoptosis and decreasing cell proliferation. |
[41] |
|
Blautia spp. (Lachnospiraceae) |
gut | Acetate, formate, and propionate |
NA | [32] |
|
Propionibacterium (Actinomycetota) |
breast | Acetate, and propionate | NA | [42] |
|
Clostridium (Firmicutes) |
gut | Acetate, butyrate, propionate, valerate, formate, and lactate | NA | [32] |
|
Streptococcus (Bacillota) |
breast | Acetate, formate, and lactate | NA | [32] |
|
Coprococcus and Roseburia (Lachnospiraceae) |
gut | Butyrate | Induce G2/M cell cycle arrest. Inhibit HDAC1 and HDAC3, activate GPR109A and GPR43, thereby reducing inflammation and suppressing tumor by over-expressing p57, reduces neuropilin-1 and ERK-MAPK pathway protein expression that prevents angiogenesis, metastasis and proliferation, triggers apoptosis via Wnt/β-catenin signaling and suppresses c-Myc. |
[43] |
| Prevotella (Bacteroidota) | gut | Acetate, formate, and propionate |
NA | [32] |
|
Bacteroides spp. (Bacteroidota) |
gut | Valerate | Modulate DNMT activity thereby hypermethylating HDAC6, NASP, HNRNPC, and LIN9 genes altering their expression which, in turn, promotes hallmarks of breast cancer progression. |
[44,45] |
Abbreviations: PUFA, polyunsaturated fats; PTEN, Phosphatase and tensin homolog; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; JAK-STAT, Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription; IL, interleukin; HDAC, histone deacetylase; GPR, G-protein coupled receptors; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinases; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; c-Myc, cellular myelocytomatosis oncogene; NASP, nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein; HNRNPC, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins C1/C2; and LIN9, Lin-9 homolog.