The presence of quorum sensing peptides in clinical samples: their biological role in oncology.

Quorum sensing peptides are small protein-like compounds which are used by certain bacteria to
communicate with each other. However, this phenomenon is not limited to the bacteria
themselves: it was recently found that these compounds can interact with human cells as well. As
such, these particular compounds potentially can explain the role of bacteria in/on our body in
health and disease.
In recent in vitro studies, it was found that some of these quorum sensing peptides can stimulate
colon cancer cell invasion and angiogenesis, two processes that can be linked to cancer metastasis.
Based on these findings of potential microbiome-disease association, we will investigate in this
research proposal if these quorum sensing peptides can play a role in in vivo situations as well.
Therefore, we will quantitatively study the presence of different quorum sensing peptides in
(mouse and human) feces and gut mucosa. The in vivo effect of these peptides on cancer
metastasis, using mouse models, will be investigated.