Developing a new class of engineered live bacterial therapeutics to treat human diseases

A complex interplay of metabolic and immunological mechanisms underlies many diseases that represent a substantial unmet medical need. There is an increasing appreciation of the role microbes play in human health and disease, and evidence is accumulating that a new class of live biotherapeutics comp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2020-04, Vol.11 (1), p.1738-11, Article 1738
Main Authors: Charbonneau, Mark R., Isabella, Vincent M., Li, Ning, Kurtz, Caroline B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/326/2565/2134
631/61/338/552
692/4017
Bacteria - genetics
Biology
Biomarkers - metabolism
Chemical compounds
Disease
Drug development
Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology
Genetic Engineering
Human performance
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Immunology
Microorganisms
multidisciplinary
Neoplasms - therapy
Perspective
Pharmacology
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Synthetic biology
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Summary:A complex interplay of metabolic and immunological mechanisms underlies many diseases that represent a substantial unmet medical need. There is an increasing appreciation of the role microbes play in human health and disease, and evidence is accumulating that a new class of live biotherapeutics comprised of engineered microbes could address specific mechanisms of disease. Using the tools of synthetic biology, nonpathogenic bacteria can be designed to sense and respond to environmental signals in order to consume harmful compounds and deliver therapeutic effectors. In this perspective, we describe considerations for the design and development of engineered live biotherapeutics to achieve regulatory and patient acceptance. The role microbes play in human health and the ability of synthetic biology to engineer microbial properties opens up new ways of treating disease. In this perspective, the authors describe the design and development of these living therapeutics.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-15508-1