Medical Applications of Synthetic Biology - Samantha Simpson
Project Proposal
My project will be on medical applications of synthetic biology. I will reference Anderson's paper on utilizing quorum-sensing and hypoxia-responsive genes coupled with invasin from Yersinia tuberculosis to invade cancer-causing cells. Coupled with Critchley's work, which describes a bacterial system that invades eukaryotic cells and delivers proteins coded for in the bacteria's genome, one could possibly create 'search and destroy' E.coli that can locate, invade, and kill tumor cells. Garmory's paper also highlights the possibility of using bacteria as a drug-delivering system, specifically vaccine vectors. Kobayashi describes cells that produce a protective biofilm layer after exposure to DNA-damaging agents. Ro engineers yeast to create an anti-malarial drug that can be created at a lower cost than the previous standard production process. These papers, and others that have a focus on direct medical applications such as novel cancer therapies, vaccination technology, biological protection, and the creation of new medicines, will be referenced to create a cohesive overview of applications of synthetic biology to the medical field.
Partial Bibliography
Anderson JC, et al. (2006) Environmentally controlled invasion of cancer cells by engineered bacteria. J. of Molecular Biology 355:619-27.
Critchley RJ, et al. (2004) Potential therapeutic applications of recombinant, invasive E. coli. Gene therapy 11:1224-33.
Garmory HS, et al. (2003) The use of live attenuated bacteria as a delivery system for heterologous antigens. J. of Drug Targeting 11:471-79.
Kobayashi H, et al. (2004) Programmable cells: Interfacing natural and engineered gene networks. PNAS 101:8414-19.
Ro D, et al. (2006) Production of the antimalarial drug precursor artemisinic acid in engineered yeast. Nature 440:940-43.
Paper
Synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging field that strives to re-design existing biological systems and components or fabricate novel biological systems and components. The end result of experimentation in synthetic biology is to help scientists understand a naturally occurring genetic pathway more fully or to create a new, useful pathway. Recent research efforts have focused on engineering bacteria to create a new form of biofuel or to make promoters of varying efficiencies for more exact gene expression. Other research efforts focus on engineering yeast to make antimalarial drugs or engineering E. coli to recognize and invade tumor-like cells, both of which are medical applications of synthetic biology. Advancements such as novel cancer therapies, vaccination technology, biological protection, and the creation of new medicines highlight synthetic biology’s potential to create breakthroughs in medical science. This paper will examine various medical applications of synthetic biology and further development that needs to be done before current research can be used in hospitals and doctors’ offices.
