Transcript Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells: Using Bacteria for Therapeutics

Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells:
Using Bacteria for Therapeutics
Leeza Shashkova
30 July 2013
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• Cancer is one of the leading causes of death
worldwide
• One solution was developed by synthetic
biologists: engineer a bacteria that destroys
cancer cells
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• Biologists developed bacteria that destroy
tumor cells and do not harm other tissue
• Bacteria respond to hypoxic environment
created by dense tumor cells by invading cell
• Can invade HeLa (epithelial), HepG2
(carcinoma), and U2OS cells (osteosarcoma)
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• Bacteria can be constructed with various
components
• When expressed, the inv gene (from the Y.
pseudotuberculosis bacteria) produces invasin
• Invasin is a protein that enables bacteria to
invade mammalian cells
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• The inv gene can be paired with a few other
components: the lux operon, the fhdF
promoter, or the araBAD promoter
• Lux operon is a quorum sensing circuit from
the Vibrio fischeri bacteria, a family of
bacteria that responded to high cell density
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• The fhdF promoter is responsive to hypoxic
environments
• The araBAD promoter is responsive to
arabinose
• Lux operon, fhdF promoter and araBAD
promoter are all well equipped to work in this
bacteria, because they are sense characteristics
of cancerous tissue
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• Once inside of the cell, the bacteria release
cytotoxins to destroy the cancer cell
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• Bacterial treatment of cancer is safer and more
effective than other treatment options like
chemotherapy
• Bacteria are a more accurate treatment for the
patient, because they release the correct dose
and target the specific area
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• University of Pennsylvania’s iGEM team
designed a bacteria that would destroy cancer
cells when exposed to blue light
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
• Bacterial therapeutics has not been widely
received by the public yet
• Artemisinin has already been introduced to the
market as an affordable cure for malaria
• With more education about the benefits of
genetic engineering, we may be someday
treating diseases with engineered bacteria
Bacterial Invasion of Cancer Cells
Bibliography
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http://www.technologyreview.com/news/405899/tumor-killing-bacteria/
http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/
http://bmes.org/history
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC205046/
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/specialty_areas/spine/clinical_trials
/chordoma_study_announcement.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9338007
http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/8867865/reload=0;jsessionid=WMgdnfeuuANQzxhaYg6
q.20
http://www.jbiomedsci.com/content/17/1/21
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905201213.htm
http://www.jbiomedsci.com/content/17/1/21/figure/F1?highres=y