Intervening in disease through genetically-modified bacteria

Publication date: December 2017Source: Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, Volume 31, Issue 6Author(s): Adilson K. Ferreira, Lisley I. Mambelli, Saravanan Y. PillaiAbstractThe comprehension of the molecular basis of different diseases is rapidly being dissected as a consequence of advancing technology. Consequently, proteins with potential therapeutic usefulness, including cytokines and signaling molecules have been identified in the last decades. However, their clinical use is hampered by disadvantageous functional and economic considerations. One of the most important of these considerations is targeted topical delivery and also the synthesis of such proteins, which for intravenous use requires rigorous purification whereas proteins often do not withstand digestive degradation and thus cannot be applied per os. Recently, the idea of using genetically modified bacteria has emerged as an attempt to evade these important barriers. Using such bacteria can deliver therapeutic proteins or other molecules at place of disease, especially when disease is at a mucosal surface. Further, whereas intravenously applied therapeutic proteins require expensive methodology in order to become endotoxin-free, this is not necessary for local application of therapeutic proteins in the intestine. In addition, once created further propagation of genetically modified bacteria is both cheap and requires relatively little in conditioning with respect to transport of the medication, ma...

Source: Best Practice and Research Clinical Gastroenterology - July 5, 2018 Category: Gastroenterology Source Type: research