Abstract
Metabolic abnormalities are one of the main hallmarks of
cancer and are associated with chemoresistance. Therefore,
targeting the metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells has
the potential to overcome chemoresistance. Probiotic-derived
extracellular vesicles (EVs) play important roles in biological
function and intracellular communication. However, the inhibitory
effect of Lactobacillus plantarum-derived EVs (LpEVs)
on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells has not yet been elucidated.
This study clearly revealed that increased glycolysis in 5-fluorouracil
(5-FU)-resistant CRC cells (CRC/5FUR) is directly
related to chemoresistance and that the metabolic shift reversed
by LpEVs inhibits cancer cell proliferation and eventually
leads to apoptosis. Pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2
(PDK2), one of the crucial enzymes for enhancing glycolysis,
was upregulated in CRC/5FUR cells. In our study, LpEVs sensitized
CRC/5FUR cells to 5-FU by attenuating PDK2 expression
in p53-p21-dependent metabolic signaling, thereby
circumventing 5-FU resistance. We demonstrated the effect
of cellular responses to 5-FU by modifying the PDK2
expression level in both 5-FU-sensitive parental CRC and 5-
FU resistant CRC cell lines. Finally, we revealed that the PDK2
signaling pathway can potentially be targeted using LpEVs
treatment to overcome chemoresistant CRC, thereby providing
a potential strategy for CRC treatment by intervening in
tumor metabolism.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by

- Effect of probiotic extracellular vesicles and their applications on health and disease
Guangzhao Wang, Yang Wang, Kangliang Sheng, Yongzhong Wang
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.2025;[Epub] CrossRef - Incorporation of recombinant proteins into extracellular vesicles by Lactococcus cremoris
Tina Vida Plavec, Kristina Žagar Soderžnik, Giulia Della Pelle, Špela Zupančič, Robert Vidmar, Aleš Berlec
Scientific Reports.2025;[Epub] CrossRef - The benefits of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum: From immunomodulator to vaccine vector
Joshua Tobias, Stefan Heinl, Kristina Dendinovic, Ajša Ramić, Anna Schmid, Catherine Daniel, Ursula Wiedermann
Immunology Letters.2025; 272: 106971. CrossRef - Interconnections within the tumor microenvironment: extracellular vesicles as critical players of metabolic reprogramming in tumor cells
Carol Costa Encarnação, Giselle Marianne Faria, Victor Aguiar Franco, Luiz Gabriel Xavier Botelho, João Alfredo Moraes, Mariana Renovato-Martins
Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Review of METTL3 in colorectal cancer: From mechanisms to the therapeutic potential
Lexuan Zhang, Zhenwei Mao, Kai Yin, Shengjun Wang
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.2024; 277: 134212. CrossRef -
Extracellular Vesicles from
Lacticaseibacillus Paracasei
PC-H1 Inhibit HIF-1α-Mediated Glycolysis of Colon Cancer
Yangqian Shi, Chunliang Zhang, Wanyu Cao, Luyi Li, Kaili Liu, Hanyue Zhu, Fikadu Balcha, Yong Fang
Future Microbiology.2024; 19(3): 227. CrossRef - Role of probiotic extracellular vesicles in inter-kingdom communication and current technical limitations in advancing their therapeutic utility
Rahul Sanwlani, Kyle Bramich, Suresh Mathivanan
Extracellular Vesicles and Circulating Nucleic Acids.2024; : 609. CrossRef - Beneficial microbiome and diet interplay in early-onset colorectal cancer
Zhengyuan Zhou, Linda Kleis, Ana Depetris-Chauvin, Stefanie Jaskulski, Victoria Damerell, Karin B Michels, Biljana Gigic, Ute Nöthlings, Gianni Panagiotou
EMBO Molecular Medicine.2024; 17(1): 9. CrossRef - Deciphering the role of host-gut microbiota crosstalk via diverse sources of extracellular vesicles in colorectal cancer
Yun Song, Min Shi, Yugang Wang
Molecular Medicine.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Targeting the gut and tumor microbiome in cancer treatment resistance
Sona Ciernikova, Aneta Sevcikova, Michal Mego
American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology.2024; 327(6): C1433. CrossRef - Lactobacillus plantarum Metabolites Elicit Anticancer Effects by Inhibiting Autophagy-Related Responses
Sihyun Jeong, Yuju Kim, Soyeong Park, Doyeon Lee, Juho Lee, Shwe Phyu Hlaing, Jin-Wook Yoo, Sang Hoon Rhee, Eunok Im
Molecules.2023; 28(4): 1890. CrossRef - Extracellular Vesicles of Probiotics: Shedding Light on the Biological Activity and Future Applications
Paweł Krzyżek, Beatrice Marinacci, Irene Vitale, Rossella Grande
Pharmaceutics.2023; 15(2): 522. CrossRef - Isolation and Characterization of Cow-, Buffalo-, Sheep- and Goat-Milk-Derived Extracellular Vesicles
Monisha Samuel, Rahul Sanwlani, Mohashin Pathan, Sushma Anand, Ella L. Johnston, Ching-Seng Ang, Maria Kaparakis-Liaskos, Suresh Mathivanan
Cells.2023; 12(20): 2491. CrossRef - Gut microbiota in colorectal cancer development and therapy
Chi Chun Wong, Jun Yu
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.2023; 20(7): 429. CrossRef - Phytochemicals targeting glycolysis in colorectal cancer therapy: effects and mechanisms of action
Lu Zhan, Fangting Su, Qiang Li, Yueqiang Wen, Feng Wei, Zhelin He, Xiaoyan Chen, Xiang Yin, Jian Wang, Yilin Cai, Yuxia Gong, Yu Chen, Xiao Ma, Jinhao Zeng
Frontiers in Pharmacology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef - Crosstalk between gut microbiota and RNA N6-methyladenosine modification in cancer
Hao Su, Henley Cheung, Harry Cheuk-Hay Lau, Hongyan Chen, Xiaoting Zhang, Na Qin, Yifei Wang, Matthew Tak Vai Chan, William Ka Kei Wu, Huarong Chen
FEMS Microbiology Reviews.2023;[Epub] CrossRef