article · Veterinary Sciences
This laboratory study evaluated the antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer properties of exosomes isolated from camel milk. Researchers characterised these nano-sized vesicles and tested them against multiple microbial strains and cell lines. Camel milk exosomes demonstrated bacteriostatic activity, particularly against Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as fungistatic effects against Candida albicans, though they did not kill Gram-positive bacteria. When tested on cancer cell models, the exosomes selectively triggered programmed cell death in HepG2 liver cancer and CaCo2 colorectal cancer cells. This occurred through increased reactive oxygen species, elevated apoptotic markers, and the suppression of antioxidant genes. In contrast, normal Vero cells were unaffected across the tested doses, suggesting a favourable safety profile in laboratory conditions.
Finding therapeutic agents that target harmful pathogens and malignant cells without damaging healthy tissues remains a central challenge in medicine. These findings indicate that camel milk exosomes possess natural antimicrobial properties and can selectively destroy liver and colon cancer cells in cell cultures. This highlights their potential as naturally derived, non-toxic candidates for further therapeutic exploration.
This work points towards potential long-term applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical development, specifically for oncology therapies and antimicrobial treatments. Pharmaceutical developers and biotechs working on natural drug-delivery vesicles or targeted cancer therapies could find these findings relevant. However, the research remains at an early in vitro stage, requiring extensive pre-clinical animal testing and safety validation before any clinical or commercial pipeline can be established.
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Camel milk (CM) has potent antibacterial and antifungal effects and camel milk exosomes (CM-EXO) have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of a large variety of cancer cells including HepaRG, MCF7, Hl60, and PANC1. However, little is known regarding the effects of CM-EXO on bacteria, fungi, HepG2, CaCo2, and Vero cells. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer effects of CM-EXO. EXOs were isolated from CM by ultracentrifugation and characterized by transmission electron microscope and flow cytometry. Unlike CM, CM-EXO (6 mg/mL) had no bactericidal effects on Gram-positive bacteria (<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Micrococcus luteus</i>, and <i>Enterococcus feacalis</i>) but they had bacteriostatic effects, especially against Gram-negative strains (<i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, and <i>Proteus mirabilis</i>), and fungistatic effects on <i>Candida albicans</i>. HepG2, CaCo2, and Vero cells were respectively treated with CM-EXOs at low (6.17, 3.60, 75.35 μg/mL), moderate (12.34, 7.20, 150.70 μg/mL), and high (24.68, 14.40, 301.40 μg/mL) doses and the results revealed that CM-EXOs triggered apoptosis in HepG2 and CaCo2 cells, but not in normal Vero cells, as revealed by high <i>Bax</i> expression and caspase 3 activities and lower expression of <i>Bcl2</i>. Interestingly, CM-EXOs also induced the elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and downregulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes (<i>NrF2</i> and <i>HO-1</i>) in cancer cells but not in normal cells. CM-EXOs have antibacterial and antifungal effects as well as a selective anticancer effect against HepG2 and CaCo2 cells with a higher safety margin on normal cells.
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DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10020124
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