A novel human Streptomyces strain redresses malignancy by inducing apoptosis and regaining gut homeostasis
6 affiliations
- 1Genomics Research Center (Key Laboratory of Gut Microbiota and Pharmacogenomics of Heilongjiang Province, State-Province Key Laboratory of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- 2Harbin Medical University-University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine Centre for Infection and Genomics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- 4Department of Pathogen Biology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- 5Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- 6Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Abstract
Colorectal cancer is among the deadliest malignancies globally. The modern therapies do not lead to ideal outcomes due mostly to drug resistance and recurrence. Previously, we treated cancer patients by ameliorating the gut microbiome and achieved curative effects. We hypothesize that anticancer bacteria might be ubiquitous in the gut but suppressed under certain conditions, pointing to a possibility that an ameliorated gut ecology may help regain the abundance or functions of the hypothetical anticancer bacteria. Here, we show our successful isolation and polyphasic characterization of a gut bacterial strain, CGMCC 17111, which exhibited potent suppressive effects on colorectal cancer. CGMCC 17111 belongs to Streptomyces and is most closely related to the type strain of Streptomyces albidoflavus, DSM 40455T. However, DSM 40455T does not show any appreciable anticancer effects. Genetic, phenotypic, and functional analyses established CGMCC 17111 as representing a novel gut bacterial species with peculiar activities to redress malignancy without eliciting violent inflammatory reactions in the host.
IMPORTANCE: The human gut bacterial strain Streptomyces sp. CGMCC 17111 represents a genetically distinct gut-derived Streptomyces lineage that exhibited antitumor activity in both in vitro and in vivo experimental models. As a resident member of the human gut microbiota, CGMCC 17111 may contribute to host–microbiota interactions that influence tumor-associated biological processes. The findings of this study provide a foundation for future research into gut-derived microbial products and their potential applications in cancer therapy while preserving host physiological homeostasis.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026novel,
title = {{A novel human Streptomyces strain redresses malignancy by inducing apoptosis and regaining gut homeostasis}},
author = {Yu-Hui Wang and Bao-Juan Yuan and Yao Meng and Hong-Tao Xu and Xin-Yu Gao and Liang Liu and Hong-Da Tian and Xiaoyu Wang and Xing-Hua Zhang and Song-Ling Zhu and Randal N. Johnston and Le Tang and Gui-Rong Liu and Shu-Lin Liu},
journal = {mSystems},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1128/msystems.00528-26},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00528-26},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A novel human Streptomyces strain redresses malignancy by inducing apoptosis and regaining gut homeostasis
AU - Yu-Hui Wang
AU - Bao-Juan Yuan
AU - Yao Meng
AU - Hong-Tao Xu
AU - Xin-Yu Gao
AU - Liang Liu
AU - Hong-Da Tian
AU - Xiaoyu Wang
AU - Xing-Hua Zhang
AU - Song-Ling Zhu
AU - Randal N. Johnston
AU - Le Tang
AU - Gui-Rong Liu
AU - Shu-Lin Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - mSystems
DO - 10.1128/msystems.00528-26
UR - https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00528-26
AB - Colorectal cancer is among the deadliest malignancies globally. The modern therapies do not lead to ideal outcomes due mostly to drug resistance and recurrence. Previously, we treated cancer patients by ameliorating the gut microbiome and achieved curative effects. We hypothesize that anticancer bacteria might be ubiquitous in the gut but suppressed under certain conditions, pointing to a possibility that an ameliorated gut ecology may help regain the abundance or functions of the hypothetical anticancer bacteria. Here, we show our successful isolation and polyphasic characterization of a gut bacterial strain, CGMCC 17111, which exhibited potent suppressive effects on colorectal cancer. CGMCC 17111 belongs to Streptomyces and is most closely related to the type strain of Streptomyces albidoflavus, DSM 40455T. However, DSM 40455T does not show any appreciable anticancer effects. Genetic, phenotypic, and functional analyses established CGMCC 17111 as representing a novel gut bacterial species with peculiar activities to redress malignancy without eliciting violent inflammatory reactions in the host. IMPORTANCE: The human gut bacterial strain Streptomyces sp. CGMCC 17111 represents a genetically distinct gut-derived Streptomyces lineage that exhibited antitumor activity in both in vitro and in vivo experimental models. As a resident member of the human gut microbiota, CGMCC 17111 may contribute to host–microbiota interactions that influence tumor-associated biological processes. The findings of this study provide a foundation for future research into gut-derived microbial products and their potential applications in cancer therapy while preserving host physiological homeostasis.
SN - 2379-5077
ER -