Short communication: Antiproliferative effect of wild Lactobacillus strains isolated from fermented foods on HT-29 cells

In vitro studies, animal models, epidemiology, and human intervention studies provide evidence that some lactic acid bacteria can reduce the risk of certain cancers. In this study, heat-killed bacterial cells, genomic DNA, and cell wall of 7 wild Lactobacillus strains isolated from traditional fermented foods in western China were tested in vitro for cytotoxicity on colonic cancer cell line HT-29 by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The heat-killed bacterial cells, genomic DNA, and cell wall of the 7 strains exhibited direct antiproliferative activities against HT-29 cells. Among the strains, the cellular components of Lactobacillus coryniformis ssp. torquens T3L exerted marked antiproliferative activities against HT-29 cells. The maximum inhibition rates of HT-29 cells by the heat-killed bacterial cells (1 × 107 cfu/mL), cell wall (20 μg of protein/mL) and genomic DNA (100 μg/mL) of L. coryniformis ssp. torquens T3L were 30, 44.9, and 35.9%, respectively. The results indicate that the heat-killed bacterial cells, cell wall, and genomic DNA of the 7 wild Lactobacillus strains could inhibit the growth of HT-29 cells.