pH-taxis drives aerobic bacteria in duodenum to migrate into the pancreas with tumors

Intratumoral Microbiome: Foe or Friend in Reshaping the Tumor Microenvironment Landscape?

The role of the microbiome in cancer and its crosstalk with the tumor microenvironment (TME) has been extensively studied and characterized. An emerging field in the cancer microbiome research is the concept of the intratumoral microbiome, which refers to the microbiome residing within the tumor. This microbiome primarily originates from the local microbiome of the tumor-bearing tissue or from translocating microbiome from distant sites, such as the gut. Despite the increasing number of studies on intratumoral microbiome, it remains unclear whether it is a driver or a bystander of oncogenesis and tumor progression. This review aims to elucidate the intricate role of the intratumoral microbiome in tumor development by exploring its effects on reshaping the multileveled ecosystem in which tumors thrive, the TME. To dissect the complexity and the multitude of layers within the TME, we distinguish six specialized tumor microenvironments, namely, the immune, metabolic, hypoxic, acidic, mechanical and innervated microenvironments. Accordingly, we attempt to decipher the effects of the intratumoral microbiome on each specialized microenvironment and ultimately decode its tumor-promoting or tumor-suppressive impact. Additionally, we portray the intratumoral microbiome as an orchestrator in the tumor milieu, fine-tuning the responses in distinct, specialized microenvironments and remodeling the TME in a multileveled and multifaceted manner.

Duodenal and pancreatic tissue microbiome profiles of PPI users and non-users

Factors that influence the pancreas microbiome are not well understood. Regular proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use induces significant alterations in the gut microbiome, including an increase in the abundance of Streptococcus, and may be associated with pancreatic cancer risk. The aim of this study was to examine whether PPI use is associated with pancreatic and duodenal tissue microbiomes. We compared 16S rRNA microbiome profiles of normal pancreatic and duodenal tissue from 103 patients undergoing pancreatic surgery for non-malignant indications, including 34 patients on PPIs, accounting for factors including age, smoking, body mass index and the presence of main pancreatic duct dilation. Histologically normal tissue from the pancreatic head had higher alpha diversity and enrichment of Firmicutes by phylum-level analysis and Streptococcus species compared to normal pancreas body/tail tissues (16.8 % vs 8.8 %, P = .02, and 5.9 % vs 1.4 %, P = .03, respectively). Measures of beta diversity differed significantly between the pancreas and the duodenum, but in subjects with main pancreatic duct dilation, beta diversity of pancreatic head tissue was more similar to normal duodenal tissue than those without pancreatic duct dilation. Duodenal tissue of PPI users had significant enrichment of Firmicute phyla (34.7 % vs. 14.1 %, P = .01) and Streptococcus genera (19.5 % vs. 5.2 %, P = .01) compared to non-users; these differences were not evident in pancreas tissues. By multivariate analysis, PPI use was associated with alpha diversity in the duodenum, but not in the pancreas. However, some differences in pancreas tissue beta diversity were observed between PPI users and non-users. In summary, we find differences in the microbiome profiles of the pancreas head versus the pancreatic body/tail and we find PPI use is associated with alterations in duodenal and pancreatic tissue microbiome profiles.

Understanding bacterial infiltration of the pancreas through a deformable pancreatic duct

Tiny amount of bacteria are found in the pancreas in pancreatitis and cancer, which seemed involved in inflammation and carcinogenesis. However, bacterial infiltration from the duodenum is inhibited by the physical defense mechanisms such as bile flow and the sphincter of Oddi. To understand how the bacteria possibly infiltrate the pancreas through a deformable pancreatic duct, influenced by the periodic contractions of the sphincter of Oddi, a mathematical model of bacterial infiltration is developed that considered large deformation, fluid flow, and bacterial transport in a deformable pancreatic duct. In addition, the sphincter's contraction wave is modeled by including its propagation from the pancreas toward the duodenum. Simulated structure of the deformed duct with the relaxed sphincter and simulated bile distribution agreed reasonably well with the literature, validating the model. Bacterial infiltration from the duodenum in a deformable pancreatic duct, following the sphincter's contraction, is counteracted by a gradual peristalsis-like deformation of the pancreatic duct, due to an antegrade contraction wave propagation from the pancreas to the duodenum, Parametric sensitivity analysis demonstrated that bacterial infiltration is increased with lower bile and pancreatic juice flow rate, greater contraction amplitude and frequency, thinner wall thickness, and retrograde contraction wave propagation. Since contraction waves following retrograde propagation are increased in patients with common bile duct stones and pancreatitis, they may possibly be factors for continuum inflammation of pancreas. (224 words).

Probiotic Spore-Based Oral Drug Delivery System for Enhancing Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapy by Gut-Pancreas-Axis-Guided Delivery

The chemotherapeutic effectiveness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is severely hampered by insufficient intratumoral delivery of antitumor drugs. Here, we demonstrate that enhanced pancreatic cancer chemotherapy can be achieved by probiotic spore-based oral drug delivery system via gut-pancreas axis translocation. Clostridium butyricum spores resistant to harsh external stress are extracted as drug carriers, which are further covalently conjugated with gemcitabine-loaded mesoporous silicon nanoparticles (MGEM). The spore-based oral drug delivery system (SPORE-MGEM) migrates upstream into pancreatic tumors from the gut, which increases intratumoral drug accumulation by ∼3-fold compared with MGEM. In two orthotopic PDAC mice models, tumor growth is markedly suppressed by SPORE-MGEM without obvious side effects. Leveraging the biological contact of the gut-pancreas axis, this probiotic spore-based oral drug delivery system reveals a new avenue for enhancing PDAC chemotherapy.