USE OF BACTERIA IN ANTIBODY PRODUCTION ROBERT GALLO

A BIG PROBLEM… There are many diseases in the world caused by pathogens that devastate many people each year, causing pain, financial loss, and death

A SOLUTION… Use modified E. Coli to create antibodies for certain diseases ahead of time, so that an immune boost can be given via injection, or so a response can begin before it normally would.

BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM Your body makes antibodies to fight infections Antibodies latch onto the receptors on pathogen to mark them for destruction by T-cells Antibodies also can destroy some pathogens by themselves

HOW ANTIBODIES ARE MADE Antibodies are made in cells known as B-cells The genes for antibodies are stored in 3 regions known as the IGH, IGK, and IGL chromosome regions About 1,000 antibody genes code for 10 Billion Antibodies

ANTIBODY DIVERSITY To make so many antibodies, a process known as V(D)J Recombination occurs In this, genes are recombined to make the desired antibodies

ENGINEERED E. COLI SOLUTION First, Human Macrophages are introduced to a pathogen Upon consumption, the macrophages display a signal on its surface telling the E. coli to begin antibody production Normally, Helper T-cells receive the signal and send another one to B-cells

WHAT THE E. COLI DOES Upon receipt of the signal from the macrophage via the T-cell receptor gene spliced in, the E. coli creates a signaling molecule that activates the antibody production genes and the V(D)J recombination gene that were also spliced in. In addition, GFP will be made along with the antibody to demonstrate that the system is working

TESTING Everything must be tested! 3 principle tests needed: First, verify that the macrophages will still eat the pathogen and properly display its signal Then, verify that the E. Coli interpret the signal correctly and produce antibodies Last, verify that the antibodies do not cause an immune response

PROBLEMS Probably a lot of bugs that need working out Might cause an immune response Probably very expensive in development and cost

OTHER OPTIONS? Vaccines: They are the best option, as prevention is always better, but they are useless, if not harmful, after infection has begun Antibiotics: They only work for bacteria, not viruses, but are effective and readily available. They also increase the risk of creating superbugs

SOURCES ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26860 newscientist.com cellsalive.com/antibody ebi.ac.uk lifetechnologies.com Registry of Standard Biological Parts TinkerCell Wikipedia p z85xz_400.jpg