Properties of realgar bioleaching using an extremely acidophilic bacterium and its antitumor mechanism as an anticancer agent

Biological research: BR

Yan Wei¹  Hongyu Li²  Xin Wang³  Peng Chen³  Lei Yan³  Qinjian Xie⁴  Ruixiang Xu⁴  Wenbin Zhao⁴  Zhengrong Wu⁴ 

[1] College of Life Science and Technology, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing, People’Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution, Institute of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People’School of Pharmacy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, People’s Republic of China

关键词: A. ferrooxidans;    Anticancer effect;    Bioleaching;    RBS;    Realgar;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40659-017-0122-y

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: BioMed Central

【 摘 要 】

Realgar is a naturally occurring arsenic sulfide (or Xionghuang, in Chinese). It contains over 90% tetra-arsenic tetra-sulfide (As4S4). Currently, realgar has been confirmed the antitumor activities, both in vitro and in vivo, of realgar extracted using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans). Bioleaching, a new technology to greatly improve the use rate of arsenic extraction from realgar using bacteria, is a novel methodology that addressed a limitation of the traditional method for realgar preparation. The present systematic review reports on the research progress in realgar bioleaching and its antitumor mechanism as an anticancer agent. A total of 93 research articles that report on the biological activity of extracts from realgar using bacteria and its preparation were presented in this review. The realgar bioleaching solution (RBS) works by inducing apoptosis when it is used to treat tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. When it is used to treat animal model organisms in vivo, such as mice and Caenorhabditis elegans, tumor tissues grew more slowly, with mass necrosis. Meanwhile, the agent also showed obvious inhibition of tumor cell growth. Bioleaching technology greatly improves the utilization of realgar and is a novel methodology to improve the traditional method.

【 授权许可】

CC BY