KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the synergistic potential of combining MSC secretome with chemotherapy in TNBC treatment.
- Researchers observed a synergistic effect of CM-hUCESC and paclitaxel in TNBC treatment, suggesting the potential for reduced chemotherapy doses and decreased toxicity.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most lethal subtype of breast cancer and despite its adverse effects, chemotherapy remains the standard systemic treatment option for TNBC. Given the pressing need for enhanced efficacy and curability, exploring innovative adjunctive therapies is crucial.
Noemi Eiro and the team aimed to assess the potential synergistic effect of combining MSC secretome with chemotherapy, specifically paclitaxel, in TNBC treatment.
They investigated the anti-tumor effect of combining a chemical agent (paclitaxel) with a complex biological product, a secretome derived from human Uterine Cervical Stem cells (CM-hUCESC), in TNBC.
They demonstrated that the combination of paclitaxel and CM-hUCESC reduced cell proliferation and invasiveness of tumor cells while inducing apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 and/or primary tumor cells. This anti-tumor effect was further validated in a mouse tumor xenograft model, revealing a significant reduction in tumor growth with the combined treatment.
Additionally, pre-conditioning hUCESC with a sub-lethal dose of paclitaxel augmented the efficacy of its secretome, leading to a further decrease in tumor growth in vivo. Notably, this combination therapy allowed for a significant reduction in the dosage of paclitaxel. The observed effects were attributed partly to the action of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from CM-hUCESC and soluble factors like TIMP-1 and -2.
The study concluded that the combination of CM-hUCESC with paclitaxel exhibits a synergistic effect on TNBC. This finding suggests a promising avenue for reducing the dosage of chemotherapeutic agents, potentially mitigating chemotherapy-related toxicity in TNBC patients.
The study was sponsored by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-funded by the European Union (ERDF/ESF) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38664697/
Eiro N, Fraile M, Escudero-Cernuda S, et al. (2024). “Synergistic effect of human uterine cervical mesenchymal stem cell secretome and paclitaxel on triple negative breast cancer.” Stem Cell Res Ther. 2024 Apr 25;15(1):121. doi: 10.1186/s13287-024-03717-0. PMID: 38664697.
