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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 • • • • • • • • • • 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