​The Department of life sciences at the Faculty of science at the University of Mosul discussed the doctoral thesis tagged “the inhibitory effect of Fengycin compound extracted from Bacillus subtilis bacteria on types of cancer cell lines”, which was submitted by student Yasser Jassim Mohammed on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti-cancer effect of the fengycin compound extracted from Bacillus subtilis bacteria, either when used alone or in combination with microRNAs specifically Let-7b and miR-34a, by testing it on three cancer cell lines: A549 lung cancer, HCT116 colon cancer, SH-SY5Y neuronal cancer with the adoption of normal HGF cells as a comparison sample. ​​Fengcin showed a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect, in which the A549 lung cancer cell line was the most sensitive, due to inhibition of 65.7% at a concentration of 40 µg/mL. ​The combination of fengsin with microRNAs resulted in enhanced anti-cancer efficacy, with miR-34a-P2 emerging as the most effective, achieving inhibition rates of 92.1% in A549 cells, 80.5% in SH-SY5Y cells, and 71.6% in HCT116 cells, in contrast to a very limited effect on normal HGF cells. ​Molecular analyzes revealed that effective treatments were associated with high gene expression of both TP53 and Caspase-3, and low gene expression of K-ras, confirming the effect of this combination on the molecular pathways responsible for inhibiting cancerous growth. The study concluded that the combination of fengsin with microRNAs (in particular miR-34a and Let-7b) represents a promising therapeutic strategy that increases the efficiency of inhibition of cancer cells while maintaining a high degree of selectivity towards non-cancer cells. The discussion Committee was chaired by Prof. Dr. Mohsen Ayoub Issa, with the membership of: Prof. Dr. Nihad Abdul Mohsen Jaafar, Prof. Dr. Ziad dhanoun Dawood, Prof. Dr. Firas Hamid akhdhir, Prof. Dr. Ghada Abdul Razzaq Mohammed, Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Abdul Jabbar Hussein ( member and supervisor ) . ​At the end of the discussion, the dean, Professor Dr. Hiam Adel Ibrahim, presented a letter of thanks and appreciation to Professor Dr. Nihad Abdul Mohsen Jaafar from Tikrit University for taking the trouble to travel and in appreciation of his outstanding scientific efforts and active participation in the work of the committee. Our wishes to the students and teachers of our college continued success and repayment Government information and Communication Division

Wednesday, September 9, 2026