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Meidaninikjeh S, Mohammadi P, Elikaei A. Bacteriophages and bacterial extracellular vesicles, threat or opportunity? Life Sci 2024; 350:122749. [PMID: 38821215 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2024.122749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
Emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMR) is one of the health major problems worldwide. The scientists are looking for a novel method to treat infectious diseases. Phage therapy is considered a suitable approach for treating infectious diseases. However, there are different challenges in this way. Some biological aspects can probably influence on therapeutic results and further investigations are necessary to reach a successful phage therapy. Bacteriophage activity can influence by bacterial defense system. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) are one of the bacterial defense mechanisms which can modify the results of bacteriophage activity. BEVs have the significant roles in the gene transferring, invasion, escape, and spreading of bacteriophages. In this review, the defense mechanisms of bacteria against bacteriophages, especially BEVs secretion, the hidden linkage of BEVs and bacteriophages, and its possible consequences on the bacteriophage activity as well phage therapy will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepideh Meidaninikjeh
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Parisa Mohammadi
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran; Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Ameneh Elikaei
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran; Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
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2
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Brödel AK, Charpenay LH, Galtier M, Fuche FJ, Terrasse R, Poquet C, Havránek J, Pignotti S, Krawczyk A, Arraou M, Prevot G, Spadoni D, Yarnall MTN, Hessel EM, Fernandez-Rodriguez J, Duportet X, Bikard D. In situ targeted base editing of bacteria in the mouse gut. Nature 2024:10.1038/s41586-024-07681-w. [PMID: 38987595 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07681-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
Microbiome research is now demonstrating a growing number of bacterial strains and genes that affect our health1. Although CRISPR-derived tools have shown great success in editing disease-driving genes in human cells2, we currently lack the tools to achieve comparable success for bacterial targets in situ. Here we engineer a phage-derived particle to deliver a base editor and modify Escherichia coli colonizing the mouse gut. Editing of a β-lactamase gene in a model E. coli strain resulted in a median editing efficiency of 93% of the target bacterial population with a single dose. Edited bacteria were stably maintained in the mouse gut for at least 42 days following treatment. This was achieved using a non-replicative DNA vector, preventing maintenance and dissemination of the payload. We then leveraged this approach to edit several genes of therapeutic relevance in E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains in vitro and demonstrate in situ editing of a gene involved in the production of curli in a pathogenic E. coli strain. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of modifying bacteria directly in the gut, offering a new avenue to investigate the function of bacterial genes and opening the door to the design of new microbiome-targeted therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - David Bikard
- Eligo Bioscience, Paris, France.
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Synthetic Biology, Paris, France.
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3
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Li Y, Li XM, Duan HY, Yang KD, Ye JF. Advances and optimization strategies in bacteriophage therapy for treating inflammatory bowel disease. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1398652. [PMID: 38779682 PMCID: PMC11109441 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1398652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In the advancement of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) treatment, existing therapeutic methods exhibit limitations; they do not offer a complete cure for IBD and can trigger adverse side effects. Consequently, the exploration of novel therapies and multifaceted treatment strategies provides patients with a broader range of options. Within the framework of IBD, gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in disease onset through diverse mechanisms. Bacteriophages, as natural microbial regulators, demonstrate remarkable specificity by accurately identifying and eliminating specific pathogens, thus holding therapeutic promise. Although clinical trials have affirmed the safety of phage therapy, its efficacy is prone to external influences during storage and transport, which may affect its infectivity and regulatory roles within the microbiota. Improving the stability and precise dosage control of bacteriophages-ensuring robustness in storage and transport, consistent dosing, and targeted delivery to infection sites-is crucial. This review thoroughly explores the latest developments in IBD treatment and its inherent challenges, focusing on the interaction between the microbiota and bacteriophages. It highlights bacteriophages' potential as microbiome modulators in IBD treatment, offering detailed insights into research on bacteriophage encapsulation and targeted delivery mechanisms. Particular attention is paid to the functionality of various carrier systems, especially regarding their protective properties and ability for colon-specific delivery. This review aims to provide a theoretical foundation for using bacteriophages as microbiome modulators in IBD treatment, paving the way for enhanced regulation of the intestinal microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- General Surgery Center, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
- Department of Rehabilitation, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Xiao-meng Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Hao-yu Duan
- General Surgery Center, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
| | - Kai-di Yang
- Department of Rehabilitation, School of Nursing, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Jun-feng Ye
- General Surgery Center, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China
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4
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Tanaka T, Sugiyama R, Sato Y, Kawaguchi M, Honda K, Iwaki H, Okano K. Precise microbiome engineering using natural and synthetic bacteriophages targeting an artificial bacterial consortium. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1403903. [PMID: 38756723 PMCID: PMC11096457 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1403903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
In natural microbiomes, microorganisms interact with each other and exhibit diverse functions. Microbiome engineering, which enables bacterial knockdown, is a promising method to elucidate the functions of targeted bacteria in microbiomes. However, few methods to selectively kill target microorganisms in the microbiome without affecting the growth of nontarget microorganisms are available. In this study, we focused on the host-specific lytic ability of virulent phages and validated their potency for precise microbiome engineering. In an artificial microbiome consisting of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus subtilis, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, the addition of bacteriophages infecting their respective host strains specifically reduced the number of these bacteria more than 102 orders. Remarkably, the reduction in target bacteria did not affect the growth of nontarget bacteria, indicating that bacteriophages were effective tools for precise microbiome engineering. Moreover, a virulent derivative of the λ phage was synthesized from prophage DNA in the genome of λ lysogen by in vivo DNA assembly and phage-rebooting techniques, and E. coli-targeted microbiome engineering was achieved. These results propose a novel approach for precise microbiome engineering using bacteriophages, in which virulent phages are synthesized from prophage DNA in lysogenic strains without isolating phages from environmental samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoki Tanaka
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryoga Sugiyama
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yu Sato
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Manami Kawaguchi
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kohsuke Honda
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Iwaki
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kenji Okano
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
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5
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Zheng L, Shen J, Chen R, Hu Y, Zhao W, Leung ELH, Dai L. Genome engineering of the human gut microbiome. J Genet Genomics 2024; 51:479-491. [PMID: 38218395 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2024.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
The human gut microbiome, a complex ecosystem, significantly influences host health, impacting crucial aspects such as metabolism and immunity. To enhance our comprehension and control of the molecular mechanisms orchestrating the intricate interplay between gut commensal bacteria and human health, the exploration of genome engineering for gut microbes is a promising frontier. Nevertheless, the complexities and diversities inherent in the gut microbiome pose substantial challenges to the development of effective genome engineering tools for human gut microbes. In this comprehensive review, we provide an overview of the current progress and challenges in genome engineering of human gut commensal bacteria, whether executed in vitro or in situ. A specific focus is directed towards the advancements and prospects in cargo DNA delivery and high-throughput techniques. Additionally, we elucidate the immense potential of genome engineering methods to enhance our understanding of the human gut microbiome and engineer the microorganisms to enhance human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linggang Zheng
- Dr Neher's Biophysics Laboratory for Innovative Drug Discovery/State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, Macau 999078, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Juntao Shen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Ruiyue Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yucan Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Elaine Lai-Han Leung
- Cancer Center, Faculty of Health Science, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China; MOE Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.
| | - Lei Dai
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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6
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Li X, Zheng X, Yadav N, Saha S, Salama ES, Li X, Wang L, Jeon BH. Rational management of the plant microbiome for the Second Green Revolution. PLANT COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 5:100812. [PMID: 38213028 PMCID: PMC11009158 DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
The Green Revolution of the mid-20th century transformed agriculture worldwide and has resulted in environmental challenges. A new approach, the Second Green Revolution, seeks to enhance agricultural productivity while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Plant microbiomes play critical roles in plant growth and stress responses, and understanding plant-microbiome interactions is essential for developing sustainable agricultural practices that meet food security and safety challenges, which are among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This review provides a comprehensive exploration of key deterministic processes crucial for developing microbiome management strategies, including the host effect, the facilitator effect, and microbe-microbe interactions. A hierarchical framework for plant microbiome modulation is proposed to bridge the gap between basic research and agricultural applications. This framework emphasizes three levels of modulation: single-strain, synthetic community, and in situ microbiome modulation. Overall, rational management of plant microbiomes has wide-ranging applications in agriculture and can potentially be a core technology for the Second Green Revolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofang Li
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China
| | - Xin Zheng
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China
| | - Nikita Yadav
- Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea
| | - Shouvik Saha
- Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, Hermantown, MN 55811, USA; Department of Biotechnology, Brainware University, Barasat, Kolkata 700125, West Bengal, India
| | - El-Sayed Salama
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Xiangkai Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Cell Activities and Stress Adaptations, School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Likun Wang
- Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China.
| | - Byong-Hun Jeon
- Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, South Korea.
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7
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Gencay YE, Jasinskytė D, Robert C, Semsey S, Martínez V, Petersen AØ, Brunner K, de Santiago Torio A, Salazar A, Turcu IC, Eriksen MK, Koval L, Takos A, Pascal R, Schou TS, Bayer L, Bryde T, Johansen KC, Bak EG, Smrekar F, Doyle TB, Satlin MJ, Gram A, Carvalho J, Jessen L, Hallström B, Hink J, Damholt B, Troy A, Grove M, Clube J, Grøndahl C, Haaber JK, van der Helm E, Zdravkovic M, Sommer MOA. Engineered phage with antibacterial CRISPR-Cas selectively reduce E. coli burden in mice. Nat Biotechnol 2024; 42:265-274. [PMID: 37142704 PMCID: PMC10869271 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01759-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotic treatments have detrimental effects on the microbiome and lead to antibiotic resistance. To develop a phage therapy against a diverse range of clinically relevant Escherichia coli, we screened a library of 162 wild-type (WT) phages, identifying eight phages with broad coverage of E. coli, complementary binding to bacterial surface receptors, and the capability to stably carry inserted cargo. Selected phages were engineered with tail fibers and CRISPR-Cas machinery to specifically target E. coli. We show that engineered phages target bacteria in biofilms, reduce the emergence of phage-tolerant E. coli and out-compete their ancestral WT phages in coculture experiments. A combination of the four most complementary bacteriophages, called SNIPR001, is well tolerated in both mouse models and minipigs and reduces E. coli load in the mouse gut better than its constituent components separately. SNIPR001 is in clinical development to selectively kill E. coli, which may cause fatal infections in hematological cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Lev Koval
- SNIPR BIOME ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Michael J Satlin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Morten Otto Alexander Sommer
- SNIPR BIOME ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, DTU Biosustain, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
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8
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Yarahmadi A, Afkhami H. The role of microbiomes in gastrointestinal cancers: new insights. Front Oncol 2024; 13:1344328. [PMID: 38361500 PMCID: PMC10867565 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1344328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers constitute more than 33% of new cancer cases worldwide and pose a considerable burden on public health. There exists a growing body of evidence that has systematically recorded an upward trajectory in GI malignancies within the last 5 to 10 years, thus presenting a formidable menace to the health of the human population. The perturbations in GI microbiota may have a noteworthy influence on the advancement of GI cancers; however, the precise mechanisms behind this association are still not comprehensively understood. Some bacteria have been observed to support cancer development, while others seem to provide a safeguard against it. Recent studies have indicated that alterations in the composition and abundance of microbiomes could be associated with the progression of various GI cancers, such as colorectal, gastric, hepatic, and esophageal cancers. Within this comprehensive analysis, we examine the significance of microbiomes, particularly those located in the intestines, in GI cancers. Furthermore, we explore the impact of microbiomes on various treatment modalities for GI cancer, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Additionally, we delve into the intricate mechanisms through which intestinal microbes influence the efficacy of GI cancer treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aref Yarahmadi
- Department of Biology, Khorramabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Khorramabad, Iran
| | - Hamed Afkhami
- Nervous System Stem Cells Research Center, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
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9
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Li C, Wang ZX, Xiao H, Wu FG. Intestinal Delivery of Probiotics: Materials, Strategies, and Applications. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024:e2310174. [PMID: 38245861 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202310174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Probiotics with diverse and crucial properties and functions have attracted broad interest from many researchers, who adopt intestinal delivery of probiotics to modulate the gut microbiota. However, the major problems faced for the therapeutic applications of probiotics are the viability and colonization of probiotics during their processing, oral intake, and subsequent delivery to the gut. The challenges of simple oral delivery (stability, controllability, targeting, etc.) have greatly limited the use of probiotics in clinical therapies. Nanotechnology can endow the probiotics to be delivered to the intestine with improved survival rate and increased resistance to the adverse environment. Additionally, the progress in synthetic biology has created new opportunities for efficiently and purposefully designing and manipulating the probiotics. In this article, a brief overview of the types of probiotics for intestinal delivery, the current progress of different probiotic encapsulation strategies, including the chemical, physical, and genetic strategies and their combinations, and the emerging single-cell encapsulation strategies using nanocoating methods, is presented. The action mechanisms of probiotics that are responsible for eliciting beneficial effects are also briefly discussed. Finally, the therapeutic applications of engineered probiotics are discussed, and the future trends toward developing engineered probiotics with advanced features and improved health benefits are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengcheng Li
- International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials and Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Zi-Xi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Huining Xiao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3, Canada
| | - Fu-Gen Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
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10
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Hizume T, Sato Y, Iwaki H, Honda K, Okano K. Subtractive modification of bacterial consortium using antisense peptide nucleic acids. Front Microbiol 2024; 14:1321428. [PMID: 38260881 PMCID: PMC10800778 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1321428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Microbiome engineering is an emerging research field that aims to design an artificial microbiome and modulate its function. In particular, subtractive modification of the microbiome allows us to create an artificial microbiome without the microorganism of interest and to evaluate its functions and interactions with other constituent bacteria. However, few techniques that can specifically remove only a single species from a large number of microorganisms and can be applied universally to a variety of microorganisms have been developed. Antisense peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a potent designable antimicrobial agent that can be delivered into microbial cells by conjugating with a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP). Here, we tested the efficacy of the conjugate of CPP and PNA (CPP-PNA) as microbiome modifiers. The addition of CPP-PNA specifically inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida in an artificial bacterial consortium comprising E. coli, P. putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Moreover, the growth inhibition of P. putida promoted the growth of P. fluorescens and inhibited the growth of L. plantarum. These results indicate that CPP-PNA can be used not only for precise microbiome engineering but also for analyzing the growth relationships among constituent microorganisms in the microbiome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Hizume
- Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yu Sato
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Iwaki
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kohsuke Honda
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kenji Okano
- Department of Life Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Materials and Bioengineering, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan
- International Center for Biotechnology, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
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11
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Amin U, Jiang R, Raza SM, Fan M, Liang L, Feng N, Li X, Yang Y, Guo F. Gut-joint axis: Oral Probiotic ameliorates Osteoarthritis. J Tradit Complement Med 2024; 14:26-39. [PMID: 38223812 PMCID: PMC10785157 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2023.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) etiology is multifactorial, and its prevalence is growing globally. The Gut microbiota shapes our immune system and impacts all aspects of health and disease. The idea of utilizing probiotics to treat different conditions prevails. Concerning musculoskeletal illness and health, current data lack the link to understand the interactions between the host and microbiome. We report that S. thermophilus, L. pentosus (as probiotics), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) harbour against osteoarthritis in vivo and alleviate IL-1β induced changes in chondrocytes in vitro. We examined the increased GABA concentration in mice's serum and small intestine content followed by bacterial treatment. The treatment inhibited the catabolism of cartilage and rescued mice joints from degradation. Furthermore, the anabolic markers upregulated and decreased inflammatory markers in mice knee joints and chondrocytes. This study is the first to represent GABA's chondrogenic and chondroprotective effects on joints and human chondrocytes. This data provides a foundation for future studies to elucidate the role of GABA in regulating chondrocyte cell proliferation. These findings opened future horizons to understanding the gut-joint axis and OA treatment. Thus, probiotic/GABA therapy shields OA joints in mice and could at least serve as adjuvant therapy to treat osteoarthritis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uzma Amin
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Rong Jiang
- Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Shahid Masood Raza
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China
- Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, Punjab, Pakistan
| | - Mengtian Fan
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Li Liang
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Naibo Feng
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuyou Yang
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Fengjin Guo
- Laboratory of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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12
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Tan Y, Liang J, Lai M, Wan S, Luo X, Li F. Advances in synthetic biology toolboxes paving the way for mechanistic understanding and strain engineering of gut commensal Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 69:108272. [PMID: 37844770 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
The gut microbiota plays a significant role in influencing human immunity, metabolism, development, and behavior by producing a wide range of metabolites. While there is accumulating data on several microbiota-derived small molecules that contribute to host health and disease, our knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolite-mediated microbe-host interactions remains limited. This is primarily due to the lack of efficient genetic tools for most commensal bacteria, especially those belonging to the dominant phyla Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp., which hinders the application of synthetic biology to these gut commensal bacteria. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances in synthetic biology tools developed for the two dominant genera, as well as their applications in deciphering the mechanisms of microbe-host interactions mediated by microbiota-derived small molecules. We also discuss the potential biomedical applications of engineering commensal bacteria using these toolboxes. Finally, we share our perspective on the future development of synthetic biology tools for a better understanding of small molecule-mediated microbe-host interactions and their engineering for biomedical purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Tan
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao 266101, China.
| | - Jing Liang
- Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Mingchi Lai
- College of Life Sciences, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China
| | - Sai Wan
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Xiaozhou Luo
- Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Fuli Li
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, Qingdao C1 Refinery Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China; Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao 266101, China.
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13
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Mousavinasab F, Karimi R, Taheri S, Ahmadvand F, Sanaaee S, Najafi S, Halvaii MS, Haghgoo A, Zamany M, Majidpoor J, Khosravifar M, Baniasadi M, Talebi M, Movafagh A, Aghaei-Zarch SM, Khorram N, Farnia P, Kalhor K. Microbiome modulation in inflammatory diseases: Progress to microbiome genetic engineering. Cancer Cell Int 2023; 23:271. [PMID: 37951913 PMCID: PMC10640760 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-03095-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent developments in sequencing technology and analytical approaches have allowed researchers to show that the healthy gut microbiome is very varied and capable of performing a wide range of tasks. The importance of gut microbiota in controlling immunological, neurological, and endocrine function is becoming well-recognized. Thereby, numerous inflammatory diseases, including those that impact the gastrointestinal system, as well as less obvious ones, including Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cancer, gestational diabetes (GD), type 1 diabetes (T1D), and type 2 diabetes (T2D), have been linked to dysbiotic gut microbiota. Microbiome engineering is a rapidly evolving frontier for solutions to improve human health. Microbiome engineering seeks to improve the function of an ecosystem by manipulating the composition of microbes. Thereby, generating potential therapies against metabolic, inflammatory, and immunological diseases will be possible through microbiome engineering. This essay first provides an overview of the traditional technological instruments that might be used for microbiome engineering, such as Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT), prebiotics, and probiotics. Moreover, we will also discuss experimental genetic methods such as Metagenomic Alteration of Gut microbiome by In situ Conjugation (MAGIC), Bacteriophage, and Conjugative plasmids in manipulating intestinal microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ronika Karimi
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Tehran Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sima Taheri
- Department of Microbiology, Shahr Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Saameh Sanaaee
- Department of New Science, Faculty of Cellular and Molecular biology, Tehran Medical Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sajad Najafi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Alireza Haghgoo
- Department of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Marzieh Zamany
- Shahid Akbarabadi Clinical Research Development Unit, Iran University of medical Science, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jamal Majidpoor
- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Infectious Disease Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran
| | - Mina Khosravifar
- Institute of Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Mohammad Baniasadi
- Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran
| | - Mehrdad Talebi
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Abolfazl Movafagh
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Seyed Mohsen Aghaei-Zarch
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Nastaran Khorram
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Poopak Farnia
- Mycobacteriology Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Kambiz Kalhor
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA
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14
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Chen Z, Jin W, Hoover A, Chao Y, Ma Y. Decoding the microbiome: advances in genetic manipulation for gut bacteria. Trends Microbiol 2023; 31:1143-1161. [PMID: 37394299 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Studies of the gut microbiota have revealed associations between specific bacterial species or community compositions with health and disease, yet the causal mechanisms underlying microbiota gene-host interactions remain poorly understood. This is partly due to limited genetic manipulation (GM) tools for gut bacteria. Here, we review current advances and challenges in the development of GM approaches, including clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas and transposase-based systems in either model or non-model gut bacteria. By overcoming barriers to 'taming' the gut microbiome, GM tools allow molecular understanding of host-microbiome associations and accelerate microbiome engineering for clinical treatment of cancer and metabolic disorders. Finally, we provide perspectives on the future development of GM for gut microbiome species, where more effort should be placed on assembling a generalized GM pipeline to accelerate the application of groundbreaking GM tools in non-model gut bacteria towards both basic understanding and clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziying Chen
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200031, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China; The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Wenbing Jin
- Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA; Friedman Center for Nutrition and Inflammation, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Alex Hoover
- Ben May Department for Cancer Research, the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Yanjie Chao
- The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Yanlei Ma
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200031, China; Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
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15
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Aghlara-Fotovat S, Musteata E, Doerfert MD, Baruch M, Levitan M, Tabor JJ, Veiseh O. Hydrogel-encapsulation to enhance bacterial diagnosis of colon inflammation. Biomaterials 2023; 301:122246. [PMID: 37481834 PMCID: PMC10792543 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria can be genetically programmed to sense and report the presence of disease biomarkers in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, diagnostic bacteria are typically delivered via oral administration of liquid cultures, resulting in poor survival and high dispersal in vivo. These limitations confound recovery and analysis of engineered bacteria from GI or stool samples. Here, we demonstrate that encapsulating bacteria inside of alginate core-shell particles enables robust survival, containment, and diagnostic function in vivo. We demonstrate these benefits by encapsulating a strain engineered to report the presence of the biomarker thiosulfate via fluorescent protein expression in order to diagnose dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis in rats. Hydrogel-encapsulated bacteria engineered to sense and respond to physiological stimuli should enable minimally invasive monitoring of a wide range of diseases and have applications as next-generation smart therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elena Musteata
- Systems Synthetic and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Moshe Baruch
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Maya Levitan
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jeffrey J Tabor
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA; Systems Synthetic and Physical Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Biosciences, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Omid Veiseh
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
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16
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Zhuang YP, Zhou HL, Chen HB, Zheng MY, Liang YW, Gu YT, Li WT, Qiu WL, Zhou HG. Gut microbiota interactions with antitumor immunity in colorectal cancer: From understanding to application. Biomed Pharmacother 2023; 165:115040. [PMID: 37364479 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of highly prevalent cancer. Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has dramatically changed the landscape of treatment for many advanced cancers, but CRC still exhibits suboptimal response to immunotherapy. The gut microbiota can affect both anti-tumor and pro-tumor immune responses, and further modulate the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy, particularly in the context of therapy with ICIs. Therefore, a deeper understanding of how the gut microbiota modulates immune responses is crucial to improve the outcomes of CRC patients receiving immunotherapy and to overcome resistance in nonresponders. The present review aims to describe the relationship between the gut microbiota, CRC, and antitumor immune responses, with a particular focus on key studies and recent findings on the effect of the gut microbiota on the antitumor immune activity. We also discuss the potential mechanisms by which the gut microbiota influences host antitumor immune responses as well as the prospective role of intestinal flora in CRC treatment. Furthermore, the therapeutic potential and limitations of different modulation strategies for the gut microbiota are also discussed. These insights may facilitate to better comprehend the interplay between the gut microbiota and the antitumor immune responses of CRC patients and provide new research pathways to enhance immunotherapy efficacy and expand the patient population that could be benefited by immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Pei Zhuang
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, The First Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Hong-Li Zhou
- College of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Hai-Bin Chen
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Ming-Yue Zheng
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, The First Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Wei Liang
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, The First Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Tian Gu
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, The First Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Wen-Ting Li
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, The First Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Wen-Li Qiu
- Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
| | - Hong-Guang Zhou
- Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Prevention and Treatment of Tumor, The First Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.
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17
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Ibarra‐Chávez R, Reboud J, Penadés JR, Cooper JM. Phage-Inducible Chromosomal Islands as a Diagnostic Platform to Capture and Detect Bacterial Pathogens. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2301643. [PMID: 37358000 PMCID: PMC10460865 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202301643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Phage-inducible chromosomal islands (PICIs) are a family of phage satellites that hijack phage components to facilitate their mobility and spread. Recently, these genetic constructs are repurposed as antibacterial drones, enabling a new toolbox for unorthodox applications in biotechnology. To illustrate a new suite of functions, the authors have developed a user-friendly diagnostic system, based upon PICI transduction to selectively enrich bacteria, allowing the detection and sequential recovery of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The system enables high transfer rates and sensitivities in comparison with phages, with detection down to ≈50 CFU mL-1 . In contrast to conventional detection strategies, which often rely on nucleic acid molecular assays, and cannot differentiate between dead and live organisms, this approach enables visual sensing of viable pathogens only, through the expression of a reporter gene encoded in the PICI. The approach extends diagnostic sensing mechanisms beyond cell-free synthetic biology strategies, enabling new synthetic biology/biosensing toolkits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Ibarra‐Chávez
- Department of BiologySection of MicrobiologyUniversity of CopenhagenUniversitetsparken 15, bldg. 1CopenhagenDK2100Denmark
- Institute of InfectionImmunity and InflammationCollege of MedicalVeterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8TAUK
- Division of Biomedical EngineeringJames Watt School of EngineeringUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
| | - Julien Reboud
- Division of Biomedical EngineeringJames Watt School of EngineeringUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
| | - José R. Penadés
- Institute of InfectionImmunity and InflammationCollege of MedicalVeterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8TAUK
- Departamento de Ciencias BiomédicasUniversidad CEU Cardenal HerreraMoncada46113Spain
- Centre for Bacterial Resistance BiologyImperial College LondonSouth KensingtonSW7 2AZUK
| | - Jonathan M. Cooper
- Division of Biomedical EngineeringJames Watt School of EngineeringUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
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18
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Zhang Y, Kang R, Zhang X, Pang G, Li L, Han C, Liu B, Xue X, Liu J, Sun T, Wang T, Liu P, Wang H. A programmable oral bacterial hydrogel for controllable production and release of nanovaccine for tumor immunotherapy. Biomaterials 2023; 299:122147. [PMID: 37182418 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Oral protein vaccines are mainly used to prevent the infection of intestinal pathogens in clinic due to their high safety and strong compliance. However, it is necessary to design the efficient delivery systems to overcome the harsh gastrointestinal environment in the application process. Here we established a programmable oral bacterial hydrogel system for spatiotemporally controllable production and release of nanovaccines. The system was divided into three parts: (1) Engineered bacteria were encapsulated in chitosan-sodium alginate microcapsules, which offered protection against the extreme acid conditions in the stomach. (2) Microcapsules were dissolved, and then engineered bacteria were released and colonized in the intestine. (3) The release of nanovaccines was controlled periodically by a synchronous lysis genetic circuit for tumor immunotherapy. Compared to control groups, tumor volume of subcutaneous tumor-bearing mice treated with bacterial microgels releasing optimized nanovaccine was almost inhibited by 75% and T cell response was activated at least 2-fold. We believe that this programmable bacterial hydrogel will offer a promising way for the application of oral nanovaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Zhang
- School of Medical Imaging, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221006, China
| | - Ruru Kang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Xinyu Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Gaoju Pang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Lianyue Li
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Chunli Han
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Baona Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Xin Xue
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Jing Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Tao Sun
- Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China; Laboratory of Synthetic Microbiology, School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Tao Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Peiyuan Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China.
| | - Hanjie Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University and Tianjin Engineering Center of Micro-Nano Biomaterials and Detection-Treatment Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Function and Application of Biological Macromolecular Structures, Tianjin, 300072, China.
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19
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Roson-Calero N, Ballesté-Delpierre C, Fernández J, Vila J. Insights on Current Strategies to Decolonize the Gut from Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria: Pros and Cons. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:1074. [PMID: 37370393 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12061074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In the last decades, we have witnessed a steady increase in infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. These infections are associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Several interventions should be taken to reduce the emergence and spread of MDR bacteria. The eradication of resistant pathogens colonizing specific human body sites that would likely cause further infection in other sites is one of the most conventional strategies. The objective of this narrative mini-review is to compile and discuss different strategies for the eradication of MDR bacteria from gut microbiota. Here, we analyse the prevalence of MDR bacteria in the community and the hospital and the clinical impact of gut microbiota colonisation with MDR bacteria. Then, several strategies to eliminate MDR bacteria from gut microbiota are described and include: (i) selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) using a cocktail of antibiotics; (ii) the use of pre and probiotics; (iii) fecal microbiota transplantation; (iv) the use of specific phages; (v) engineered CRISPR-Cas Systems. This review intends to provide a state-of-the-art of the most relevant strategies to eradicate MDR bacteria from gut microbiota currently being investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Roson-Calero
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Basic Clinical Practice, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Ballesté-Delpierre
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Fernández
- Liver ICU, Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS and CIBERehd, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF-Clif), 08021 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Vila
- Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Basic Clinical Practice, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Biomedical Diagnostic Center, Hospital Clinic, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
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20
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Loyola Irizarry HG, Brito IL. Characterizing conjugative plasmids from an antibiotic-resistant dataset for use as broad-host delivery vectors. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1199640. [PMID: 37389338 PMCID: PMC10301749 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1199640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human microbiome engineering is increasingly proposed as a way to modulate health outcomes. However, one of the current limitations to engineering microbial communities in situ is delivery of a genetic payload for introducing or modifying genes. Indeed, there is a need to identify novel broad-host delivery vectors for microbiome engineering. Therefore, in this study, we characterized conjugative plasmids from a publicly available dataset of antibiotic-resistant isolate genomes in order to identify potential broad-host vectors for further applications. From the 199 closed genomes available in the CDC & FDA AR Isolate Bank, we identified 439 plasmids, of which 126 were predicted to be mobilizable and 206 conjugative. Various characteristics of the conjugative plasmids, such as size, replication origin, conjugation machinery, host defense mechanisms, and plasmid stability proteins, were analyzed to determine these plasmids' potential host-range. Following this analysis, we clustered plasmid sequences and chose 22 unique, broad-host range plasmids that would be suitable for use as delivery vectors. This novel set of plasmids will provide a valuable resource for engineering microbial communities.
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21
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Pellegrino GM, Browne TS, Sharath K, Bari KA, Vancuren S, Allen-Vercoe E, Gloor GB, Edgell DR. Metabolically-targeted dCas9 expression in bacteria. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:982-996. [PMID: 36629257 PMCID: PMC9881133 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 12/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to restrict gene expression to a relevant bacterial species in a complex microbiome is an unsolved problem. In the context of the human microbiome, one desirable target metabolic activity are glucuronide-utilization enzymes (GUS) that are implicated in the toxic re-activation of glucuronidated compounds in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including the chemotherapeutic drug irinotecan. Here, we take advantage of the variable distribution of GUS enzymes in bacteria as a means to distinguish between bacteria with GUS activity, and re-purpose the glucuronide-responsive GusR transcription factor as a biosensor to regulate dCas9 expression in response to glucuronide inducers. We fused the Escherichia coli gusA regulatory region to the dCas9 gene to create pGreg-dCas9, and showed that dCas9 expression is induced by glucuronides, but not other carbon sources. When conjugated from E. coli to Gammaproteobacteria derived from human stool, dCas9 expression from pGreg-dCas9 was restricted to GUS-positive bacteria. dCas9-sgRNAs targeted to gusA specifically down-regulated gus operon transcription in Gammaproteobacteria, with a resulting ∼100-fold decrease in GusA activity. Our data outline a general strategy to re-purpose bacterial transcription factors responsive to exogenous metabolites for precise ligand-dependent expression of genetic tools such as dCas9 in diverse bacterial species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory M Pellegrino
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Biochemistry, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Tyler S Browne
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Biochemistry, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Keerthana Sharath
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Biochemistry, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Khaleda A Bari
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Biochemistry, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Sarah J Vancuren
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Emma Allen-Vercoe
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Gregory B Gloor
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Biochemistry, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - David R Edgell
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 519 661 3133; Fax: +1 519 661 3175;
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22
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Yang Y, Du H, Zou G, Song Z, Zhou Y, Li H, Tan C, Chen H, Fischetti VA, Li J. Encapsulation and delivery of phage as a novel method for gut flora manipulation in situ: A review. J Control Release 2023; 353:634-649. [PMID: 36464065 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2022.11.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Intestinal flora regulation is an effective method to intervene and treat diseases associated with microbiome imbalance. In addition to conventional probiotic supplement, phage delivery has recently exhibited great prospect in modifying gut flora composition and regulating certain gene expression of gut bacteria. However, the protein structure of phage is vulnerable to external factors during storage and delivery, which leads to the loss of infection ability and flora regulation function. Encapsulation strategy provides an effective solution for improving phage stability and precisely controlling delivery dosage. Different functional materials including enzyme-responsive and pH-responsive polymers have been used to construct encapsulation carriers to protect phages from harsh conditions and release them in the colon. Meanwhile, diverse carriers showed different characteristics in structure and function, which influenced their protective effect and delivery efficiency. This review systematically summarizes recent research progress on the phage encapsulation and delivery, with an emphasis on function properties of carrier systems in the protection effect and colon-targeted delivery. The present review may provide a theoretical reference for the encapsulation and delivery of phage as microbiota modulator, so as to expedite the development of functional material and delivery carrier, as well as the advances in practical application of intestinal flora regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, College of Food Science and Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Hu Du
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Geng Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, College of Food Science and Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zhiyong Song
- College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Yang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, College of Food Science and Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Hao Li
- Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gent 9000, Belgium
| | - Chen Tan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Huanchun Chen
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Vincent A Fischetti
- Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York 10065, USA
| | - Jinquan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Environment Correlative Dietology, College of Food Science and Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Biomedicine and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York 10065, USA; Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, China.
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23
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Hamidi Nia L, Claesen J. Engineered Cancer Targeting Microbes and Encapsulation Devices for Human Gut Microbiome Applications. Biochemistry 2022; 61:2841-2848. [PMID: 35868631 PMCID: PMC9785036 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The gut microbiota produce specialized metabolites that are important for maintaining host health homeostasis. Hence, unstable production of these metabolites can contribute to diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer. While fecal transplantation or dietary modification approaches can be used to correct the gut microbial community's metabolic output, this Perspective focuses on the use of engineered bacteria. We highlight recent advances in bacterial synthetic biology approaches for the treatment of colorectal cancer and systemic tumors and discuss the functionality and biochemical properties of novel containment approaches using hydrogel-based and electronic devices. Synthetic circuitry refinement and incorporation of novel functional modules have enabled more targeted detection of colonic tumors and delivery of anticancer compounds inside the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, as well as the design of tumor-homing bacteria capable of recruiting infiltrating T cells. Engineering challenges in these applications include the stability of the genetic circuits, long-term engraftment of the chosen chassis, and containment of the synthetic microbes' activity to the diseased tissues. Hydrogels are well-suited to the encapsulationo of living organisms due to their matrix structure and tunable porosity. The matrix structure allows a dried hydrogel to collect and contain GI contents. Engineered bacteria that sense GI tract inflammation or tumors and release bioactive metabolites to the targeted area can be encapsulated. Electronic devices can be enabled with additional measuring and data processing capabilities. We expect that engineered devices will become more important in the containment and delivery of synthetic microbes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Layan Hamidi Nia
- Department
of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, United States,Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland State
University, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, United
States
| | - Jan Claesen
- Department
of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, United States,Center
for Microbiome and Human Health, Lerner
Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, United States,Department
of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic
Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, United States,
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24
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Tian L, He L, Jackson K, Saif A, Khan S, Wan Z, Didar TF, Hosseinidoust Z. Self-assembling nanofibrous bacteriophage microgels as sprayable antimicrobials targeting multidrug-resistant bacteria. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7158. [PMID: 36470891 PMCID: PMC9723106 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34803-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Nanofilamentous bacteriophages (bacterial viruses) are biofunctional, self-propagating, and monodisperse natural building blocks for virus-built materials. Minifying phage-built materials to microscale offers the promise of expanding the range function for these biomaterials to sprays and colloidal bioassays/biosensors. Here, we crosslink half a million self-organized phages as the sole structural component to construct each soft microgel. Through an in-house developed, biologics-friendly, high-throughput template method, over 35,000 phage-built microgels are produced from every square centimetre of a peelable microporous film template, constituting a 13-billion phage community. The phage-exclusive microgels exhibit a self-organized, highly-aligned nanofibrous texture and tunable auto-fluorescence. Further preservation of antimicrobial activity was achieved by making hybrid protein-phage microgels. When loaded with potent virulent phages, these microgels effectively reduce heavy loads of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 on food products, leading to up to 6 logs reduction in 9 hours and rendering food contaminant free.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Tian
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Leon He
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Kyle Jackson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Ahmed Saif
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Shadman Khan
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Zeqi Wan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Tohid F Didar
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
- Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Zeinab Hosseinidoust
- Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L7, Canada.
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
- Michael DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
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25
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Nethery MA, Hidalgo-Cantabrana C, Roberts A, Barrangou R. CRISPR-based engineering of phages for in situ bacterial base editing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2206744119. [PMID: 36343261 PMCID: PMC9674246 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2206744119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Investigation of microbial gene function is essential to the elucidation of ecological roles and complex genetic interactions that take place in microbial communities. While microbiome studies have increased in prevalence, the lack of viable in situ editing strategies impedes experimental progress, rendering genetic knowledge and manipulation of microbial communities largely inaccessible. Here, we demonstrate the utility of phage-delivered CRISPR-Cas payloads to perform targeted genetic manipulation within a community context, deploying a fabricated ecosystem (EcoFAB) as an analog for the soil microbiome. First, we detail the engineering of two classical phages for community editing using recombination to replace nonessential genes through Cas9-based selection. We show efficient engineering of T7, then demonstrate the expression of antibiotic resistance and fluorescent genes from an engineered λ prophage within an Escherichia coli host. Next, we modify λ to express an APOBEC-1-based cytosine base editor (CBE), which we leverage to perform C-to-T point mutations guided by a modified Cas9 containing only a single active nucleolytic domain (nCas9). We strategically introduce these base substitutions to create premature stop codons in-frame, inactivating both chromosomal (lacZ) and plasmid-encoded genes (mCherry and ampicillin resistance) without perturbation of the surrounding genomic regions. Furthermore, using a multigenera synthetic soil community, we employ phage-assisted base editing to induce host-specific phenotypic alterations in a community context both in vitro and within the EcoFAB, observing editing efficiencies from 10 to 28% across the bacterial population. The concurrent use of a synthetic microbial community, soil matrix, and EcoFAB device provides a controlled and reproducible model to more closely approximate in situ editing of the soil microbiome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Nethery
- Genomic Sciences Graduate Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
- Department of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606
| | - Claudio Hidalgo-Cantabrana
- Department of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606
| | - Avery Roberts
- Genomic Sciences Graduate Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
- Department of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606
| | - Rodolphe Barrangou
- Genomic Sciences Graduate Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
- Department of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606
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26
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Fang TT, Zou ZP, Zhou Y, Ye BC. Prebiotics-Controlled Disposable Engineered Bacteria for Intestinal Diseases. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:3004-3014. [PMID: 36037444 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
As a new method of diagnosis and treatment for intestinal diseases, intelligent engineered bacteria based on synthetic biology have been developed vigorously in recent years. However, how to deal with the engineered bacteria in vivo after completing the tasks is an urgent problem to be resolved. In this study, we constructed a thiosulfate (a biomarker of inflammatory bowel disease)-responsive engineered bacteria to generate two signals, sfGFP (monitoring) and gain-of-function (translation activation) mutation (ACG to ATG), in the initiation codon of lysisE (recording) via the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated base editing system. Once these two signals were detected, xylose could be added to induce lysis E expression, resulting in the destruction of the edited bacteria and the release of AvCystain simultaneously. Overall, our innovative engineered bacteria can record instant and historical information of the disease, and especially, the edited bacteria can be artificially attenuated and release drug in situ when needed, ultimately serving as a disposable and recyclable candidate for more types of diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting-Ting Fang
- Laboratory of Biosystems and Microanalysis, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Zhen-Ping Zou
- Laboratory of Biosystems and Microanalysis, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Ying Zhou
- Laboratory of Biosystems and Microanalysis, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Bang-Ce Ye
- Laboratory of Biosystems and Microanalysis, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.,Institute of Engineering Biology and Health, Collaborative Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta Region Green Pharmaceuticals, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
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27
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Mahler M, Costa AR, van Beljouw SPB, Fineran PC, Brouns SJJ. Approaches for bacteriophage genome engineering. Trends Biotechnol 2022; 41:669-685. [PMID: 36117025 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.08.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, bacteriophage research has been boosted by a rising interest in using phage therapy to treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. In addition, there is a desire to use phages and their unique proteins for specific biocontrol applications and diagnostics. However, the ability to manipulate phage genomes to understand and control gene functions, or alter phage properties such as host range, has remained challenging due to a lack of universal selectable markers. Here, we discuss the state-of-the-art techniques to engineer and select desired phage genomes using advances in cell-free methodologies and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR associated protein (CRISPR-Cas) counter-selection approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Mahler
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Ana Rita Costa
- Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Sam P B van Beljouw
- Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Peter C Fineran
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Bioprotection Aotearoa, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; Genetics Otago, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Stan J J Brouns
- Department of Bionanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands; Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft, the Netherlands.
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28
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Torres MDT, de la Fuente-Nunez C. Molecular tools for probing the microbiome. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2022; 76:102415. [PMID: 35985169 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2022.102415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The microbiome plays essential roles in health and disease. Our understanding of the imbalances that can arise in the microbiome and their consequences is held back by a lack of technologies that selectively knock out members of these microbial communities. Antibiotics and fecal transplants, the existing methods for manipulating the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract, are not sufficiently pinpointed to reveal how particular microbial genes, strains, or species affect human health. A toolset for the precise manipulation of the microbiome could significantly advance disease diagnosis and treatment. Here, we provide an overview of current and future strategies for the development of molecular tools that can be used to probe the microbiome without producing off-target effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Der Torossian Torres
- Machine Biology Group, Departments of Psychiatry and Microbiology, Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Institute for Computational Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. https://twitter.com/mdt_torres
| | - Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez
- Machine Biology Group, Departments of Psychiatry and Microbiology, Institute for Biomedical Informatics, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Institute for Computational Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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29
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Meng L, Yang F, Pang Y, Cao Z, Wu F, Yan D, Liu J. Nanocapping-enabled charge reversal generates cell-enterable endosomal-escapable bacteriophages for intracellular pathogen inhibition. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq2005. [PMID: 35857522 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are widely explored as antimicrobials for treating infectious diseases due to their specificity and potency to infect and inhibit host bacteria. However, the application of phages to inhibit intracellular pathogens has been greatly restricted by inadequacy in cell entry and endosomal escape. Here, we describe the use of cationic polymers to selectively cap negatively charged phage head rather than positively charged tail by electrostatic interaction, resulting in charge-reversed phages with uninfluenced vitality. Given the positive surface charge and proton sponge effect of the nanocapping, capped phages are able to enter intestinal epithelial cells and subsequently escape from endosomes to lyse harbored pathogens. In a murine model of intestinal infection, oral ingestion of capped phages significantly reduces the translocation of pathogens to major organs, showing a remarkable inhibition efficacy. Our work proposes that simple synthetic nanocapping can manipulate phage bioactivity, offering a facile platform for preparing next-generation antimicrobials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Meng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Fengmin Yang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Yan Pang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200011, China
| | - Zhenping Cao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Feng Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
| | - Deyue Yan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jinyao Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acid Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Institute of Molecular Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China
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30
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Tringe SG. A toolkit for microbial community editing. Nat Rev Microbiol 2022; 20:383. [PMID: 35581476 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00747-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Susannah G Tringe
- DOE Joint Genome Institute and Division of Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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31
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Shkoporov AN, Turkington CJ, Hill C. Mutualistic interplay between bacteriophages and bacteria in the human gut. Nat Rev Microbiol 2022; 20:737-749. [PMID: 35773472 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00755-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are often described as obligate predators of their bacterial hosts, and phage predation is one of the leading forces controlling the density and distribution of bacterial populations. Every 48 h half of all bacteria on Earth are killed by phages. Efficient killing also forms the basis of phage therapy in humans and animals and the use of phages as food preservatives. In turn, bacteria have a plethora of resistance systems against phage attack, but very few bacterial species, if any, have entirely escaped phage predation. However, in complex communities and environments such as the human gut, this antagonistic model of attack and counter-defence does not fully describe the scope of phage-bacterium interactions. In this Review, we explore some of the more mutualistic aspects of phage-bacterium interactions in the human gut, and we suggest that the relationship between phages and their bacterial hosts in the gut is best characterized not as a fight to the death between enemies but rather as a mutualistic relationship between partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey N Shkoporov
- APC Microbiome Ireland & School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. .,Department of Medicine, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
| | | | - Colin Hill
- APC Microbiome Ireland & School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
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32
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Abstract
The immune system in the large intestine is separated from commensal microbes and comparatively rare enteric pathogens by a monolayer of diverse epithelial cells overlaid with a compact and adherent inner mucus layer and a looser outer mucus layer. Microorganisms, collectively referred to as the mucus-associated (MA) microbiota, physically inhabit this mucus barrier, resulting in a dynamic and incessant dialog to maintain both spatial segregation and immune tolerance. Recent major findings reveal novel features of the crosstalk between the immune system and mucus-associated bacteria in health and disease, as well as disease-related peripheral immune signatures indicative of host responses to these organisms. In this brief review, we integrate these novel observations into our overall understanding of host-microbiota mutualism at the colonic mucosal border and speculate on the significance of this emerging knowledge for our understanding of the prevention, development, and progression of chronic intestinal inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Zhao
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, 35294, USA,CONTACT Qing Zhao University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294
| | - Craig L. Maynard
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, 35294, USA,Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, 35294, USA,Craig L. Maynard Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294
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33
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Rehabilitation of a misbehaving microbiome: phages for the remodeling of bacterial composition and function. iScience 2022; 25:104146. [PMID: 35402871 PMCID: PMC8991392 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The human gut microbiota is considered an adjunct metabolic organ owing to its health impact. Recent studies have shown correlations between gut phage composition and host health. Whereas phage therapy has popularized virulent phages as antimicrobials, both virulent and temperate phages have a natural ecological relationship with their cognate bacteria. Characterization of this evolutionary coadaptation has led to other emergent therapeutic phage applications that do not necessarily rely on bacterial eradication or target pathogens. Here, we present an overview of the tripartite relationship between phages, bacteria, and the mammalian host, and highlight applications of the wildtype and genetically engineered phage for gut microbiome remodeling. In light of new and varied strategies, we propose to categorize phage applications aiming to modulate bacterial composition or function as “phage rehabilitation.” By delineating phage rehab from phage therapy, we believe it will enable greater nuance and understanding of these new phage-based technologies.
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34
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Marsh JW, Ley RE. Microbiome engineering: Taming the untractable. Cell 2022; 185:416-418. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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35
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Bacteriophages and their potential for treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022; 19:135-144. [PMID: 34782783 PMCID: PMC8966578 DOI: 10.1038/s41575-021-00536-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Although bacteriophages have been overshadowed as therapeutic agents by antibiotics for decades, the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria and a better understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in human health and disease have brought them back into focus. In this Perspective, we briefly introduce basic phage biology and summarize recent discoveries about phages in relation to their role in the gut microbiota and gastrointestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease and chronic liver disease. In addition, we review preclinical studies and clinical trials of phage therapy for enteric disease and explore current challenges and potential future directions.
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36
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Ronda C, Wang HH. Engineering temporal dynamics in microbial communities. Curr Opin Microbiol 2022; 65:47-55. [PMID: 34739926 PMCID: PMC10659046 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Microbial communities are a key part to tackling global challenges in human health, environmental conservation, and sustainable agriculture in the coming decade. Recent advances in synthetic biology to study and modify microbial communities have led to important insights into their physiology and ecology. Understanding how targeted changes to microbial communities result in reproducible alterations of the community's intrinsic fluctuations and function is important for mechanistic reconstruction of microbiomes. Studies of synthetic microbial consortia and comparative analysis of communities in normal and disrupted states have revealed ecological principles that can be leveraged to engineer communities towards desired functions. Tools enabling temporal modulation and sensing of the community dynamics offer precise spatiotemporal control of functions, help to dissect microbial interaction networks, and improve predictions of population temporal dynamics. Here we discuss recent advances to manipulate microbiome dynamics through control of specific strain engraftment and abundance, modulation of cell-cell signaling for tuning population dynamics, infiltration of new functions in the existing community with in situ engineering, and in silico modeling of microbial consortia to predict community function and ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlotta Ronda
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Harris H Wang
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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37
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Clavel T, Horz H, Segata N, Vehreschild M. Next steps after 15 stimulating years of human gut microbiome research. Microb Biotechnol 2022; 15:164-175. [PMID: 34818454 PMCID: PMC8719818 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gut microbiome research has bloomed over the past 15 years. We have learnt a lot about the complex microbial communities that colonize our intestine. Promising avenues of research and microbiome-based applications are being implemented, with the goal of sustaining host health and applying personalized disease management strategies. Despite this exciting outlook, many fundamental questions about enteric microbial ecosystems remain to be answered. Organizational measures will also need to be taken to optimize the outcome of discoveries happening at an extremely rapid pace. This article highlights our own view of the field and perspectives for the next 15 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Clavel
- Functional Microbiome Research GroupInstitute of Medical MicrobiologyRWTH University HospitalAachenGermany
| | - Hans‐Peter Horz
- Phage Biology Research GroupInstitute of Medical MicrobiologyRWTH University HospitalAachenGermany
| | | | - Maria Vehreschild
- Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious DiseasesUniversity Hospital FrankfurtGoethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt am MainGermany
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38
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El Haddad L, Mendoza JF, Jobin C. Bacteriophage-mediated manipulations of microbiota in gastrointestinal diseases. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1055427. [PMID: 36466675 PMCID: PMC9714271 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1055427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although some gastrointestinal diseases could be managed using various antibiotics regimen, this therapeutic approach lacks precision and damages the microbiota. Emerging literature suggests that phages may play a key role in restoring the gut microbiome balance and controlling disease progression either with exogenous phage intervention or filtered fecal transplantation or even engineered phages. In this review, we will discuss the current phage applications aiming at controlling the bacterial population and preventing infection, inflammation, and cancer progression in the context of gastrointestinal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynn El Haddad
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Jesus F Mendoza
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Christian Jobin
- Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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39
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Rubin BE, Diamond S, Cress BF, Crits-Christoph A, Lou YC, Borges AL, Shivram H, He C, Xu M, Zhou Z, Smith SJ, Rovinsky R, Smock DCJ, Tang K, Owens TK, Krishnappa N, Sachdeva R, Barrangou R, Deutschbauer AM, Banfield JF, Doudna JA. Species- and site-specific genome editing in complex bacterial communities. Nat Microbiol 2022; 7:34-47. [PMID: 34873292 PMCID: PMC9261505 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-021-01014-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Understanding microbial gene functions relies on the application of experimental genetics in cultured microorganisms. However, the vast majority of bacteria and archaea remain uncultured, precluding the application of traditional genetic methods to these organisms and their interactions. Here, we characterize and validate a generalizable strategy for editing the genomes of specific organisms in microbial communities. We apply environmental transformation sequencing (ET-seq), in which nontargeted transposon insertions are mapped and quantified following delivery to a microbial community, to identify genetically tractable constituents. Next, DNA-editing all-in-one RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas transposase (DART) systems for targeted DNA insertion into organisms identified as tractable by ET-seq are used to enable organism- and locus-specific genetic manipulation in a community context. Using a combination of ET-seq and DART in soil and infant gut microbiota, we conduct species- and site-specific edits in several bacteria, measure gene fitness in a nonmodel bacterium and enrich targeted species. These tools enable editing of microbial communities for understanding and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin E Rubin
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Spencer Diamond
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Brady F Cress
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Yue Clare Lou
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Adair L Borges
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Haridha Shivram
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Christine He
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Michael Xu
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Zeyi Zhou
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sara J Smith
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Rovinsky
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Dylan C J Smock
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kimberly Tang
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Trenton K Owens
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Rohan Sachdeva
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Rodolphe Barrangou
- Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Adam M Deutschbauer
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jillian F Banfield
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Jennifer A Doudna
- Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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40
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Meile S, Du J, Dunne M, Kilcher S, Loessner MJ. Engineering therapeutic phages for enhanced antibacterial efficacy. Curr Opin Virol 2021; 52:182-191. [PMID: 34952266 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2021.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The alarming rise in antimicrobial resistance coupled with a lack of innovation in antibiotics has renewed interest in the development of alternative therapies to combat bacterial infections. Despite phage therapy demonstrating success in various individual cases, a comprehensive and unequivocal demonstration of the therapeutic potential of phages remains to be shown. The co-evolution of phages and their bacterial hosts resulted in several inherent limitations for the use of natural phages as therapeutics such as restricted host range, moderate antibacterial efficacy, and frequent emergence of phage-resistance. However, these constraints can be overcome by leveraging recent advances in synthetic biology and genetic engineering to provide phages with additional therapeutic capabilities, improved safety profiles, and adaptable host ranges. Here, we examine different ways phages can be engineered to deliver heterologous therapeutic payloads to enhance their antibacterial efficacy and discuss their versatile applicability to combat bacterial pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Meile
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jiemin Du
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Matthew Dunne
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Samuel Kilcher
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin J Loessner
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
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41
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Detection of pks Island mRNAs Using Toehold Sensors in Escherichia coli. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11111280. [PMID: 34833155 PMCID: PMC8625898 DOI: 10.3390/life11111280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biologists have applied biomolecular engineering approaches toward the goal of novel biological devices and have shown progress in diverse areas of medicine and biotechnology. Especially promising is the application of synthetic biological devices towards a novel class of molecular diagnostics. As an example, a de-novo-designed riboregulator called toehold switch, with its programmability and compatibility with field-deployable devices showed promising in vitro applications for viral RNA detection such as Zika and Corona viruses. However, the in vivo application of high-performance RNA sensors remains challenging due to the secondary structure of long mRNA species. Here, we introduced ‘Helper RNAs’ that can enhance the functionality of toehold switch sensors by mitigating the effect of secondary structures around a target site. By employing the helper RNAs, previously reported mCherry mRNA sensor showed improved fold-changes in vivo. To further generalize the Helper RNA approaches, we employed automatic design pipeline for toehold sensors that target the essential genes within the pks island, an important target of biomedical research in connection with colorectal cancer. The toehold switch sensors showed fold-changes upon the expression of full-length mRNAs that apparently depended sensitively on the identity of the gene as well as the predicted local structure within the target region of the mRNA. Still, the helper RNAs could improve the performance of toehold switch sensors in many instances, with up to 10-fold improvement over no helper cases. These results suggest that the helper RNA approaches can further assist the design of functional RNA devices in vivo with the aid of the streamlined automatic design software developed here. Further, our solutions for screening and stabilizing single-stranded region of mRNA may find use in other in vivo mRNA-sensing applications such as cas13 crRNA design, transcriptome engineering, and trans-cleaving ribozymes.
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42
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Khanal D, Chang RYK, Hick C, Morales S, Chan HK. Enteric-coated bacteriophage tablets for oral administration against gastrointestinal infections. Int J Pharm 2021; 609:121206. [PMID: 34673163 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Intestinal Pseudomonas aeruginosa is highly problematic in immunocompromised patients such as those in intensive care units in hospitals. Phage therapy is an attractive alternative or supplementary therapy to antibiotics as it not only kills multidrug-resistant bacteria, but also minimises the disruption of gut microflora. Solid oral dosage forms (i.e., tablets) have the potential to effectively deliver viable phages to the gastrointestinal tract, but formulation studies have been scarce. In this study, Pseudomonas-targeting phage PEV20 was used as a model to produce tablets suitable for oral delivery by utilising industry-scale tablet compression and tablet coating machines. Phage tablets were produced by (i) spray drying of phages, (ii) direct compression of the phage powders into tablets, and then (iii) tablet coating. The resulting phage tablets had negligible phage titre reduction throughout the process and passed the British Pharmacopeia tests, including friability, weight variation, disintegration and dissolution of the tablets as well as weight gain and disintegration (in 0.1 M HCl and pH 7.4 phosphate buffer) of coated tablets. The developed formulation method can be utilised to produce tablets containing other phages and phage cocktails that are effective against enteric bacterial infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dipesh Khanal
- Advanced Drug Delivery Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rachel Yoon Kyung Chang
- Advanced Drug Delivery Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Christopher Hick
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Hak-Kim Chan
- Advanced Drug Delivery Group, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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43
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Lam KN, Spanogiannopoulos P, Soto-Perez P, Alexander M, Nalley MJ, Bisanz JE, Nayak RR, Weakley AM, Yu FB, Turnbaugh PJ. Phage-delivered CRISPR-Cas9 for strain-specific depletion and genomic deletions in the gut microbiome. Cell Rep 2021; 37:109930. [PMID: 34731631 PMCID: PMC8591988 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Mechanistic insights into the role of the human microbiome in the predisposition to and treatment of disease are limited by the lack of methods to precisely add or remove microbial strains or genes from complex communities. Here, we demonstrate that engineered bacteriophage M13 can be used to deliver DNA to Escherichia coli within the mouse gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Delivery of a programmable exogenous CRISPR-Cas9 system enables the strain-specific depletion of fluorescently marked isogenic strains during competitive colonization and genomic deletions that encompass the target gene in mice colonized with a single strain. Multiple mechanisms allow E. coli to escape targeting, including loss of the CRISPR array or even the entire CRISPR-Cas9 system. These results provide a robust and experimentally tractable platform for microbiome editing, a foundation for the refinement of this approach to increase targeting efficiency, and a proof of concept for the extension to other phage-bacterial pairs of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy N Lam
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Peter Spanogiannopoulos
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Paola Soto-Perez
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Margaret Alexander
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Matthew J Nalley
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Jordan E Bisanz
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Renuka R Nayak
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Allison M Weakley
- Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Stanford ChEM-H: Chemistry, Engineering and Medicine for Human Health, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Feiqiao B Yu
- Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Peter J Turnbaugh
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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44
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Mehmood K, Moin A, Hussain T, Rizvi SMD, Gowda DV, Shakil S, Kamal MA. Can manipulation of gut microbiota really be transformed into an intervention strategy for cardiovascular disease management? Folia Microbiol (Praha) 2021; 66:897-916. [PMID: 34699042 DOI: 10.1007/s12223-021-00926-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Recent advancement in manipulation techniques of gut microbiota either ex vivo or in situ has broadened its plausible applicability for treating various diseases including cardiovascular disease. Several reports suggested that altering gut microbiota composition is an effective way to deal with issues associated with managing cardiovascular diseases. However, actual translation of gut microbiota manipulation-based techniques into cardiovascular-therapeutic approach is still questionable. This review summarized the evidence on challenges, opportunities, recent development, and future prospects of gut microbiota manipulation for targeting cardiovascular diseases. Initially, issues associated with current cardiovascular diseases treatment strategy, association of gut microbiota with cardiovascular disease, and its influence on cardiovascular drugs were discussed, followed by applicability of gut microbiota manipulation as a cardiovascular disease intervention strategy along with its challenges and future prospects. Despite the fact that the gut microbiota is rugged, interventions like probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, fecal virome transplantation, antibiotics, diet changes, and exercises could manipulate it. Advanced techniques like administration of engineered bacteriophages and bacteria could also be employed. Intensive exploration revealed that if sufficiently controlled approach and proper monitoring were applied, gut microbiota could provide a compelling answer for cardiovascular therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khalid Mehmood
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, KSA, Saudi Arabia.,Department of Pharmacy, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Havelian, Pakistan
| | - Afrasim Moin
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, KSA, Saudi Arabia
| | - Talib Hussain
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, KSA, Saudi Arabia
| | - Syed Mohd Danish Rizvi
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Hail, Hail, KSA, Saudi Arabia.
| | - D V Gowda
- Department of Pharmaceutics, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru, India
| | - Shazi Shakil
- King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - M A Kamal
- King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.,Enzymoics 7 Peterlee Place, NSW, 2770, Hebersham, Australia.,Novel Global Community, Educational Foundation, Hebersham, Australia
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45
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Ding X, Zhou J, Chai Y, Yan Z, Liu X, Dong Y, Mei X, Jiang Y, Lei H. A metagenomic study of the gut microbiome in PTB'S disease. Microbes Infect 2021; 24:104893. [PMID: 34710620 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2021.104893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is an abundant link between the gut microbiota and human health and it plays a critical role in the clinic. It is recognized that microbial dysregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of tuberculosis (TB), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the association of gut microbiome composition with TB as well as its possible roles in the development of this disease. METHODS Fecal samples were collected from 10 TB patients and 20 healthy control samples. DNA extracted from fecal samples was subjected to 16S rDNA gene sequencing analysis on the Illumina MiSeq platform. RESULTS Compared with healthy control samples, the gut microbiome of patients with TB was characterized by the decreased Alpha diversity. Perhaps, the decrease of microbial diversity which results in microbial dysregulation is the reason for clinical patients with more symptoms. The PTB group showed the most unique microbiota by higher abundance of Bifidobacteriaceae, Bifidobacteriales, Coriobacteriaceae, Coriobacteriales, Actinobacteria, Caulobacteraceae, Phyllobacteriaceae, Rhizobiales, Burkholderiaceae, Burkholderiaceae. Inflammatory status in PTB patients may be associated with the increased abundance of Clostridia and decreased abundance of Prevotella. We found that the abundance of Solobacterium and Actinobacteria was higher in the patients. There were 4 significant differences (p<0.05) in the two groups which belonged to four metabolic categories, including endocytosis, phosphotransferase system (PTS), toluene degradation, and amoebiasis. CONCLUSION We applied the approach of metagenomic sequencing to characterize the features of gut microbiota in PTB patients. The present study provided a detailed analysis of the characterization of the gut microbiota in patients based on the clinic. According to the metagenome analysis, our results indicated that the gut microbiota in PTB patients was significantly different from healthy control samples as characterized by the bacteria and metabolic pathway. The richness of the gut microbiota in patients was revealed. It was hypothesized that the above-mentioned changes of the gut microbiota could exert an impact on the development of PTB through the downstream regulation of the immune status of the host by way of the gut-lung axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiudong Ding
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China
| | | | - Yinghui Chai
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China
| | - Zengkui Yan
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China
| | - Xin Liu
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China
| | - Yueming Dong
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China
| | - Xue Mei
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China
| | - Ying Jiang
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China.
| | - Hong Lei
- 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, China.
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46
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León Y, Faherty CS. Bacteriophages against enteropathogens: rediscovery and refinement of novel antimicrobial therapeutics. Curr Opin Infect Dis 2021; 34:491-499. [PMID: 34524200 PMCID: PMC8447223 DOI: 10.1097/qco.0000000000000772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Alarming rates of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and gastrointestinal dysbiosis associated with traditional antimicrobial therapy have led to renewed interests in developing bacteriophages as novel therapeutics. In this review, we highlight some of the recent advances in bacteriophage therapeutic development targeting important enteropathogens of the gastrointestinal tract. RECENT FINDINGS Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria, either to utilize the bacterial machinery to produce new progeny or stably integrate into the bacterial chromosome to ensure maintenance of the viral genome. With recent advances in synthetic biology and the discovery of CRISPR-Cas systems used by bacteria to protect against bacteriophages, novel molecular applications are taking us beyond the discovery of bacteriophages and toward innovative applications, including the targeting of bacterial virulence factors, the use of temperate bacteriophages, and the production of bacteriophage proteins as antimicrobial agents. These technologies offer promise to target enteropathogens without disrupting the healthy microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, the use of nanoparticle technology and other modifications are helping researchers circumvent the harsh gastrointestinal conditions that could limit the efficacy of bacteriophages against enteric pathogens. SUMMARY This era of discovery and development offers significant potential to modify bacteriophages and overcome the global impact of enteropathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yrvin León
- Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christina S. Faherty
- Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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47
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Neil K, Allard N, Roy P, Grenier F, Menendez A, Burrus V, Rodrigue S. High-efficiency delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 by engineered probiotics enables precise microbiome editing. Mol Syst Biol 2021; 17:e10335. [PMID: 34665940 PMCID: PMC8527022 DOI: 10.15252/msb.202110335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance threatens our ability to treat infectious diseases, spurring interest in alternative antimicrobial technologies. The use of bacterial conjugation to deliver CRISPR-cas systems programmed to precisely eliminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria represents a promising approach but requires high in situ DNA transfer rates. We have optimized the transfer efficiency of conjugative plasmid TP114 using accelerated laboratory evolution. We hence generated a potent conjugative delivery vehicle for CRISPR-cas9 that can eliminate > 99.9% of targeted antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in the mouse gut microbiota using a single dose. We then applied this system to a Citrobacter rodentium infection model, achieving full clearance within four consecutive days of treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Neil
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQCCanada
| | - Nancy Allard
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQCCanada
| | - Patricia Roy
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQCCanada
| | - Frédéric Grenier
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQCCanada
| | - Alfredo Menendez
- Département de Microbiologie et d'InfectiologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQCCanada
| | - Vincent Burrus
- Département de biologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQCCanada
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48
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Teulière J, Bernard C, Bapteste E. Interspecific interactions that affect ageing: Age-distorters manipulate host ageing to their own evolutionary benefits. Ageing Res Rev 2021; 70:101375. [PMID: 34082078 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Genetic causes for ageing are traditionally investigated within a species. Yet, the lifecycles of many organisms intersect. Additional evolutionary and genetic causes of ageing, external to a focal species/organism, may thus be overlooked. Here, we introduce the phrase and concept of age-distorters and its evidence. Age-distorters carry ageing interfering genes, used to manipulate the biological age of other entities upon which the reproduction of age-distorters relies, e.g. age-distorters bias the reproduction/maintenance trade-offs of cells/organisms for their own evolutionary interests. Candidate age-distorters include viruses, parasites and symbionts, operating through specific, genetically encoded interferences resulting from co-evolution and arms race between manipulative non-kins and manipulable species. This interference results in organismal ageing when age-distorters prompt manipulated organisms to favor their reproduction at the expense of their maintenance, turning these hosts into expanded disposable soma. By relying on reproduction/maintenance trade-offs affecting disposable entities, which are left ageing to the reproductive benefit of other physically connected lineages with conflicting evolutionary interests, the concept of age-distorters expands the logic of the Disposable Soma theory beyond species with fixed germen/soma distinctions. Moreover, acknowledging age-distorters as external sources of mutation accumulation and antagonistic pleiotropic genes expands the scope of the mutation accumulation and of the antagonistic pleiotropy theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Teulière
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Charles Bernard
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Eric Bapteste
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, EPHE, Université des Antilles, Paris, France.
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49
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Towards the Characterization and Engineering of Bacteriophages in the Gut Microbiome. mSystems 2021; 6:e0073521. [PMID: 34427526 PMCID: PMC8407375 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00735-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The gut microbiome and its importance to human health are a rapidly evolving area of study. Bacteria often take center stage. However, the composition is much more complex with other microbial members of the gut also playing key roles. Bacteriophages (phages), the viruses that infect bacteria, are an integral component of gut microbiomes and can often be found cocolonizing with their commensal bacterial hosts. Recent studies have shown associations between the composition of resident phage communities and human health and disease, but the mechanisms of these associations remain elusive. My research laboratory is focused on understanding the role of phages in the gut microbiome and exploring their possible therapeutic applications.
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50
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Podlacha M, Grabowski Ł, Kosznik-Kawśnicka K, Zdrojewska K, Stasiłojć M, Węgrzyn G, Węgrzyn A. Interactions of Bacteriophages with Animal and Human Organisms-Safety Issues in the Light of Phage Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:8937. [PMID: 34445641 PMCID: PMC8396182 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22168937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages are viruses infecting bacterial cells. Since there is a lack of specific receptors for bacteriophages on eukaryotic cells, these viruses were for a long time considered to be neutral to animals and humans. However, studies of recent years provided clear evidence that bacteriophages can interact with eukaryotic cells, significantly influencing the functions of tissues, organs, and systems of mammals, including humans. In this review article, we summarize and discuss recent discoveries in the field of interactions of phages with animal and human organisms. Possibilities of penetration of bacteriophages into eukaryotic cells, tissues, and organs are discussed, and evidence of the effects of phages on functions of the immune system, respiratory system, central nervous system, gastrointestinal system, urinary tract, and reproductive system are presented and discussed. Modulations of cancer cells by bacteriophages are indicated. Direct and indirect effects of virulent and temperate phages are discussed. We conclude that interactions of bacteriophages with animal and human organisms are robust, and they must be taken under consideration when using these viruses in medicine, especially in phage therapy, and in biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Podlacha
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland; (M.P.); (K.Z.); (M.S.); (G.W.)
| | - Łukasz Grabowski
- Laboratory of Phage Therapy, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kładki 24, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland; (Ł.G.); (K.K.-K.)
| | - Katarzyna Kosznik-Kawśnicka
- Laboratory of Phage Therapy, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kładki 24, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland; (Ł.G.); (K.K.-K.)
| | - Karolina Zdrojewska
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland; (M.P.); (K.Z.); (M.S.); (G.W.)
| | - Małgorzata Stasiłojć
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland; (M.P.); (K.Z.); (M.S.); (G.W.)
| | - Grzegorz Węgrzyn
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308 Gdansk, Poland; (M.P.); (K.Z.); (M.S.); (G.W.)
| | - Alicja Węgrzyn
- Laboratory of Phage Therapy, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kładki 24, 80-822 Gdansk, Poland; (Ł.G.); (K.K.-K.)
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