Mycobacterium in olive oil for cancer treatment

Since then, they have been looking for ways to improve the immunotherapeutic activity of M. brumae through the design of different emulsions which can increase the homogeneity and stability, and therefore the efficacy, of the mycobacteria solutions when introduced into the body.

Researchers found a way to reduce the clumps produced naturally when mycobacteria cells, which possess a high content of lipids in their walls, are introduced into the usual aqueous solutions used for intravesical instillation in bladder cancer patients. This clumping may interfere with the interaction of the mycobacteria-host cells and negatively influence their antitumor effects.

Of the emulsions tested, the one based on olive oil induce a prominent immune response in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Olive oil preserves the viability of the mycobacteria and provided higher anti-clumping rates, and this indicates favourable conditions for reaching the bladder.

According to Esther Julián, "these results highlight the potential of the olive oil-based emulsion as a promising delivery vehicle for the mycobacterial treatment of bladder cancer."

The work, recently published in the journal Scientific Reports, from the publishers of Nature, was conducted by scientists from the Department of Genetics and Microbiology of the Faculty of Biosciences, the Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and the Microbiology Service of the UAB, together with the Bacterial Infections and Antimicrobian Therapies group at the IBEC, Barcelona.