Camel milk (CM) has potent antibacterial and antifungal effects and camel milk exosomes (CM-EXO) have been shown to inhibit the proliferation of a large variety of cancer cells including HepaRG, MCF7, Hl60, and PANC1. However, little is known regarding the effects of CM-EXO on bacteria, fungi, HepG2, CaCo2, and Vero cells. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer effects of CM-EXO. EXOs were isolated from CM by ultracentrifugation and characterized by transmission electron microscope and flow cytometry. Unlike CM, CM-EXO (6 mg/mL) had no bactericidal effects on Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, and Enterococcus feacalis) but they had bacteriostatic effects, especially against Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Proteus mirabilis), and fungistatic effects on Candida albicans. HepG2, CaCo2, and Vero cells were respectively treated with CM-EXOs at low (6.17, 3.60, 75.35 μg/mL), moderate (12.34, 7.20, 150.70 μg/mL), and high (24.68, 14.40, 301.40 μg/mL) doses and the results revealed that CM-EXOs triggered apoptosis in HepG2 and CaCo2 cells, but not in normal Vero cells, as revealed by high Bax expression and caspase 3 activities and lower expression of Bcl2. Interestingly, CM-EXOs also induced the elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and downregulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes (NrF2 and HO-1) in cancer cells but not in normal cells. CM-EXOs have antibacterial and antifungal effects as well as a selective anticancer effect against HepG2 and CaCo2 cells with a higher safety margin on normal cells.

Contradictory results were obtained regarding the effects of extracellular vesicles such as exosomes (EXOs) on diabetes and diabetic nephropathy (DN). Some studies showed that EXOs, including milk EXOs, were involved in the pathogenesis of DN, whereas other studies revealed ameliorative effects. Compared to other animals, camel milk had unique components that lower blood glucose levels. However, little is known regarding the effect of camel milk and its EXOs on DN. Thus, the present study was conducted to evaluate this effect on a rat model of DN induced by streptozotocin. Treatment with camel milk and/or its EXOs ameliorated DN as evidenced by (1) reduced levels of kidney function parameters (urea, creatinine, retinol-binding protein (RBP), and urinary proteins), (2) restored redox balance (decreased lipid peroxide malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased the activity of antioxidants enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)), (3) downregulated expression of DN-related genes (transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGFβ1), intercellular adhesion molecules 1 (ICAM1), and transformation specific 1 (ETS1), integrin subunit beta 2 (ITGβ2), tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP2), and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM1)), and (4) decreased renal damage histological score. These results concluded that the treatment with camel milk and/or its EXOs could ameliorate DN with a better effect for the combined therapy.

Lack of new anti-cancer and anti-infective agents directed the pharmaceutical research to natural products' discovery especially from actinomycetes as one of the major sources of bioactive compounds. Metabolomics- and dereplication-guided approach has been used successfully in chemical profiling of bioactive actinomycetes. We aimed to study the metabolomic profile of five bioactive actinomycetes to investigate the interesting metabolites responsible for their antimicrobial and anti-cancer activities. Three actinomycetes, namely, Streptomyces sp. SH8, SH10 and SH13, were found to exhibit broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities, whereas isolate SH4 showed the broadest antimicrobial activity against all tested strains. In addition, isolates SH8, SH10 and SH12 displayed potent cytotoxicity against the breast cancer cell line Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7), whereas isolates SH4 and SH12 exhibited potent anti-cancer activity against the hepatoma cell line hepatoma G2 (HepG2) compared with their weak inhibitory properties on the normal breast cells MCF-10A and normal liver cells transformed human liver epithelial-2 (THLE2), respectively. All bioactive isolates were molecularly identified as Streptomyces sp. via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Our actinobacterial dereplication analysis revealed putative identification of several bioactive metabolites including tetracycline, oxytetracycline and a macrolide antibiotic, novamethymycin. Together, chemical profiling of bioactive Streptomycetes via dereplication and metabolomics helped in assigning their unique metabolites and predicting the bioactive compounds instigating their diverse bioactivities.