Effect of Heat-killed Saccharomyces cerevisiae on Growth Rate and Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells

Background and purpose: Colorectal cancer ( CRC ) is highly prevalent and conventional therapies are associated with side effects, therefore, application of novel complementary treatment such as probiotics (especially Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is necessary. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of heat-killed form of S.cerevisiae on growing rate and apoptosis (expression levels of PTEN and RelA) in colon cancer cell line HT29. Materials and methods: In this experimental study, the cytotoxic effects of heat-killed form of S.cerevisiae and Fluorouracil (5-FU), as positive control, were tested by MTT assay. Apoptosis induction was investigated by determining the PTEN and RelA expression levels using qRT-PCR. Data were analyzed in GraphPad Prism Software. Results: Heat killed form of S.cerevisiae showed anti-proliferative and apoptotic effect by decreasing the expression levels of RelA and increasing PTEN expression levels in HT-29 cells. The expression levels were found to be significantly different between the intervention groups and controls. Conclusion: The yeast probiotics could decrease the growth rate of colorectal cancer cells and play key role in induction of apoptosis via regulation of RelA and PTEN.