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Gomez-Hinostroza ES, Gurdo N, Alvan Vargas MVG, Nikel PI, Guazzaroni ME, Guaman LP, Castillo Cornejo DJ, Platero R, Barba-Ostria C. Current landscape and future directions of synthetic biology in South America. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1069628. [PMID: 36845183 PMCID: PMC9950111 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1069628] [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: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a rapidly advancing multidisciplinary field in which South American countries such as Chile, Argentina, and Brazil have made notable contributions and have established leadership positions in the region. In recent years, efforts have strengthened SynBio in the rest of the countries, and although progress is significant, growth has not matched that of the aforementioned countries. Initiatives such as iGEM and TECNOx have introduced students and researchers from various countries to the foundations of SynBio. Several factors have hindered progress in the field, including scarce funding from both public and private sources for synthetic biology projects, an underdeveloped biotech industry, and a lack of policies to promote bio-innovation. However, open science initiatives such as the DIY movement and OSHW have helped to alleviate some of these challenges. Similarly, the abundance of natural resources and biodiversity make South America an attractive location to invest in and develop SynBio projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Sebastian Gomez-Hinostroza
- Laboratorio de Investigación en Citogenética y Biomoléculas de Anfibios (LICBA), Centro de Investigación para la Salud en América Latina (CISeAL), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Nicolás Gurdo
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Pablo I. Nikel
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Linda P. Guaman
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica (CENBIO), Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Eugenio Espejo, Universidad UTE, Quito, Ecuador
| | | | - Raúl Platero
- Laboratorio de Microbiología Ambiental, Departamento de Bioquímica y Genómica Microbianas, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Carlos Barba-Ostria
- Escuela de Medicina, Colegio de Ciencias de la Salud Quito, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador,Instituto de Microbiología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador,*Correspondence: Carlos Barba-Ostria,
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Ferreira R, Sousa C, Gonçalves RFS, Pinheiro AC, Oleastro M, Wagemans J, Lavigne R, Figueiredo C, Azeredo J, Melo LDR. Characterization and Genomic Analysis of a New Phage Infecting Helicobacter pylori. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23147885. [PMID: 35887231 PMCID: PMC9319048 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23147885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori, a significant human gastric pathogen, has been demonstrating increased antibiotic resistance, causing difficulties in infection treatment. It is therefore important to develop alternatives or complementary approaches to antibiotics to tackle H. pylori infections, and (bacterio)phages have proven to be effective antibacterial agents. In this work, prophage isolation was attempted using H. pylori strains and UV radiation. One phage was isolated and further characterized to assess potential phage-inspired therapeutic alternatives to H. pylori infections. HPy1R is a new podovirus prophage with a genome length of 31,162 bp, 37.1% GC, encoding 36 predicted proteins, of which 17 were identified as structural. Phage particles remained stable at 37 °C, from pH 3 to 11, for 24 h in standard assays. Moreover, when submitted to an in vitro gastric digestion model, only a small decrease was observed in the gastric phase, suggesting that it is adapted to the gastric tract environment. Together with its other characteristics, its capability to suppress H. pylori population levels for up to 24 h post-infection at multiplicities of infection of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 suggests that this newly isolated phage is a potential candidate for phage therapy in the absence of strictly lytic phages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rute Ferreira
- CEB—Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (R.F.); (C.S.); (R.F.S.G.); (A.C.P.); (J.A.)
- LABBELS—Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Cláudia Sousa
- CEB—Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (R.F.); (C.S.); (R.F.S.G.); (A.C.P.); (J.A.)
- LABBELS—Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Raquel F. S. Gonçalves
- CEB—Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (R.F.); (C.S.); (R.F.S.G.); (A.C.P.); (J.A.)
- LABBELS—Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Ana Cristina Pinheiro
- CEB—Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (R.F.); (C.S.); (R.F.S.G.); (A.C.P.); (J.A.)
- LABBELS—Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Mónica Oleastro
- Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal;
| | - Jeroen Wagemans
- Laboratory of Gene Technology, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; (J.W.); (R.L.)
| | - Rob Lavigne
- Laboratory of Gene Technology, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; (J.W.); (R.L.)
| | - Ceu Figueiredo
- i3S—Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal;
- Ipatimup—Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
| | - Joana Azeredo
- CEB—Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (R.F.); (C.S.); (R.F.S.G.); (A.C.P.); (J.A.)
- LABBELS—Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Luís D. R. Melo
- CEB—Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; (R.F.); (C.S.); (R.F.S.G.); (A.C.P.); (J.A.)
- LABBELS—Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
- Correspondence:
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Kato I, Zhang J, Sun J. Bacterial-Viral Interactions in Human Orodigestive and Female Genital Tract Cancers: A Summary of Epidemiologic and Laboratory Evidence. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:425. [PMID: 35053587 PMCID: PMC8773491 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14020425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, have been linked to pathogenesis of human cancers, whereas viruses and bacteria account for more than 99% of infection associated cancers. The human microbiome consists of not only bacteria, but also viruses and fungi. The microbiome co-residing in specific anatomic niches may modulate oncologic potentials of infectious agents in carcinogenesis. In this review, we focused on interactions between viruses and bacteria for cancers arising from the orodigestive tract and the female genital tract. We examined the interactions of these two different biological entities in the context of human carcinogenesis in the following three fashions: (1) direct interactions, (2) indirect interactions, and (3) no interaction between the two groups, but both acting on the same host carcinogenic pathways, yielding synergistic or additive effects in human cancers, e.g., head and neck cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, and cervical cancer. We discuss the progress in the current literature and summarize the mechanisms of host-viral-bacterial interactions in various human cancers. Our goal was to evaluate existing evidence and identify gaps in the knowledge for future directions in infection and cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ikuko Kato
- Department of Oncology and Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Jilei Zhang
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA;
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Jun Sun
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA;
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
- UIC Cancer Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
- Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
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Sousa C, Ferreira R, Azevedo NF, Oleastro M, Azeredo J, Figueiredo C, Melo LDR. Helicobacter pylori infection: from standard to alternative treatment strategies. Crit Rev Microbiol 2021; 48:376-396. [PMID: 34569892 DOI: 10.1080/1040841x.2021.1975643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori is the major component of the gastric microbiome of infected individuals and one of the aetiological factors of chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. The increasing resistance to antibiotics worldwide has made the treatment of H. pylori infection a challenge. As a way to overhaul the efficacy of currently used H. pylori antibiotic-based eradication therapies, alternative treatment strategies are being devised. These include probiotics and prebiotics as adjuvants in H. pylori treatment, antimicrobial peptides as alternatives to antibiotics, photodynamic therapy ingestible devices, microparticles and nanoparticles applied as drug delivery systems, vaccines, natural products, and phage therapy. This review provides an updated synopsis of these emerging H. pylori control strategies and discusses the advantages, hurdles, and challenges associated with their development and implementation. An effective human vaccine would be a major achievement although, until now, projects regarding vaccine development have failed or were discontinued. Numerous natural products have demonstrated anti-H. pylori activity, mostly in vitro, but further clinical studies are needed to fully disclose their role in H. pylori eradication. Finally, phage therapy has the potential to emerge as a valid alternative, but major challenges remain, namely the isolation of more H. pylori strictly virulent bacterio(phages).
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Affiliation(s)
- Cláudia Sousa
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Rute Ferreira
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Nuno F Azevedo
- Faculty of Engineering, LEPABE - Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Mónica Oleastro
- Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Joana Azeredo
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Ceu Figueiredo
- i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Ipatimup - Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pathology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Luís D R Melo
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
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Draft Genome Sequences of 29 Helicobacter pylori Strains Isolated from Colombia. Microbiol Resour Announc 2021; 10:10/19/e00218-21. [PMID: 33986079 PMCID: PMC8142565 DOI: 10.1128/mra.00218-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we present the draft genome sequences of 29 Colombian Helicobacter pylori strains. These strains were isolated in Bogotá, Colombia, from patients diagnosed with chronic gastritis. The genomic characterization of these strains will provide more information on the genetic composition of H. pylori strains from Colombia. Here, we present the draft genome sequences of 29 Colombian Helicobacter pylori strains. These strains were isolated in Bogotá, Colombia, from patients diagnosed with chronic gastritis. The genomic characterization of these strains will provide more information on the genetic composition of H. pylori strains from Colombia.
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