Invertebrates living in polluted environments are potential source of novel anticancer agents

One of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide, cancer is a major medical concern with 14.1 and 8.2 million cases of new cancer cases and death cases recorded in 2012 alone. The number of deaths related to cancer are still on the rise despite various treatment options. Hence, there is a need for the identification of anticancer agents for treatment. This study focused on identifying anticancer agents from invertebrates thriving in polluted environments; Acheta domesticus (cricket), Anadara granosa (blood clam), Blaptica dubia (cockroach), Penaeus monodon (tiger prawn) and Scolpendra subspinipes (centipede) respectively. We hypothesized that gut microbes of animals/pests living in polluted environments such as cockroaches are a potential source of novel anticancer agents. To evaluate this hypothesis, invertebrates were dissected and their gut bacteria were identified and conditioned media were prepared. The conditioned media were used to conduct cytotoxicity assays, cell survival assays and cell growth assays, against two cancer cell lines (cervical and prostate cancer cells) as well as normal cells (HaCaT, aneuploid immortal keratinocyte). The results revealed that conditioned media from tiger prawn (Pseudomonas oryzihabitans) and centipede (Kocuria varians) exhibited significant cytotoxic and growth inhibitory effect against the cell lines tested. However, further studies need to be conducted to identify and characterize the active molecule(s).