An international team of scientists has genetically modified a bacterium in such a way that it can detect cancer cells in the body, even in hard-to-detect places.
The American and Australian researchers explain in the study – published in the journal Science on Friday – that they used CRISPR technology to genetically modify a certain bacterium. CRISPR is a revolutionary method that allows scientists to make precise changes to an organism’s DNA.
The so-called A. baylyi bacterium naturally has the ability to capture free-floating DNA from its own environment and integrate it into its own genome. That way it can produce new proteins to grow.
The researchers made changes to the bacteria’s genome so that it has long stretches of DNA that resemble the DNA in human cancer cells. Those pieces act like one side of a zipper that attaches to the cancer DNA they capture.
Detecting colorectal cancer
For example, they succeeded in detecting cancer in the intestines of mice. According to the researchers, a blood test can be developed with their genetically modified bacteria to detect tumors in places that are difficult to detect. Colon cancer, for example, usually does not cause any symptoms in the beginning, so that the disease is often discovered late. In many cases, the disease can only be diagnosed by means of a stool test or a viewing test in the intestine (colonoscopy).
“It was incredible when I looked under the microscope to see the bacteria that had taken up the tumor’s DNA,” says Josephine Wright of the University of Adelaide.
According to scientists, technology such as this may also be used to treat cancer in the future. Oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee, of Columbia University, was not involved in the study, but commented on the study saying that in the future “diseases will be treated and prevented by cells, not pills. A living bacteria that can make DNA in the gut detecting is a great opportunity to act as a sentinel to detect and destroy gastrointestinal cancers and many other cancers.”
2023-08-15 16:49:00
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