1
|
Murali SK, Mansell TJ. Next generation probiotics: Engineering live biotherapeutics. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 72:108336. [PMID: 38432422 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108336] [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: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 02/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
The population dynamics of the human microbiome have been associated with inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and many other human disease states. An emerging paradigm in treatment is the administration of live engineered organisms, also called next-generation probiotics. However, the efficacy of these microbial therapies can be limited by the organism's overall performance in the harsh and nutrient-limited environment of the gut. In this review, we summarize the current state of the art use of bacterial and yeast strains as probiotics, highlight the recent development of genetic tools for engineering new therapeutic functions in these organisms, and report on the latest therapeutic applications of engineered probiotics, including recent clinical trials. We also discuss the supplementation of prebiotics as a method of manipulating the microbiome and improving the overall performance of engineered live biotherapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanjeeva Kumar Murali
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
| | - Thomas J Mansell
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA; Interdepartmental Microbiology Graduate Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhang Y, Bailey TS, Hittmeyer P, Dubois LJ, Theys J, Lambin P. Multiplex genetic manipulations in Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium sporogenes to secrete recombinant antigen proteins for oral-spore vaccination. Microb Cell Fact 2024; 23:119. [PMID: 38659027 PMCID: PMC11040787 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02389-y] [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: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clostridium spp. has demonstrated therapeutic potential in cancer treatment through intravenous or intratumoral administration. This approach has expanded to include non-pathogenic clostridia for the treatment of various diseases, underscoring the innovative concept of oral-spore vaccination using clostridia. Recent advancements in the field of synthetic biology have significantly enhanced the development of Clostridium-based bio-therapeutics. These advancements are particularly notable in the areas of efficient protein overexpression and secretion, which are crucial for the feasibility of oral vaccination strategies. Here, we present two examples of genetically engineered Clostridium candidates: one as an oral cancer vaccine and the other as an antiviral oral vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS Using five validated promoters and a signal peptide derived from Clostridium sporogenes, a series of full-length NY-ESO-1/CTAG1, a promising cancer vaccine candidate, expression vectors were constructed and transformed into C. sporogenes and Clostridium butyricum. Western blotting analysis confirmed efficient expression and secretion of NY-ESO-1 in clostridia, with specific promoters leading to enhanced detection signals. Additionally, the fusion of a reported bacterial adjuvant to NY-ESO-1 for improved immune recognition led to the cloning difficulties in E. coli. The use of an AUU start codon successfully mitigated potential toxicity issues in E. coli, enabling the secretion of recombinant proteins in C. sporogenes and C. butyricum. We further demonstrate the successful replacement of PyrE loci with high-expression cassettes carrying NY-ESO-1 and adjuvant-fused NY-ESO-1, achieving plasmid-free clostridia capable of secreting the antigens. Lastly, the study successfully extends its multiplex genetic manipulations to engineer clostridia for the secretion of SARS-CoV-2-related Spike_S1 antigens. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully demonstrated that C. butyricum and C. sporogenes can produce the two recombinant antigen proteins (NY-ESO-1 and SARS-CoV-2-related Spike_S1 antigens) through genetic manipulations, utilizing the AUU start codon. This approach overcomes challenges in cloning difficult proteins in E. coli. These findings underscore the feasibility of harnessing commensal clostridia for antigen protein secretion, emphasizing the applicability of non-canonical translation initiation across diverse species with broad implications for medical or industrial biotechnology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanchao Zhang
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands.
| | - Tom S Bailey
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands
- Department of Cell Biology-Inspired Tissue Engineering, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands
| | - Philip Hittmeyer
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands
- LivingMed Biotech BV, Clos Chanmurly 13, Liège, 4000, Belgium
| | - Ludwig J Dubois
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands
| | - Jan Theys
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands
| | - Philippe Lambin
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229 ER, the Netherlands.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wu J, Tian X, Xu X, Gu X, Kong J, Guo T. Engineered Probiotic Lactococcus lactis for Lycopene Production against ROS Stress in Intestinal Epithelial Cells. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:1568-1576. [PMID: 35289165 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Lactococcus lactis is a food-grade chassis for delivery of bioactive molecules to the intestinal mucosa in situ, while its ability to produce lycopene for detoxification of reactive oxidative species (ROS) is not realized yet. Here, L. lactis NZ9000 was engineered to synthesize lycopene by heterologous expression of a gene cluster crtEBI in plasmids or chromosomes, yielding the recombinant strains NZ4 and NZ5 with 0.59 and 0.54 mg/L lycopene production, respectively. To reroute the pyruvate flux to lycopene, the main lactate dehydrogenase and α-acetolactate synthase pathways were sequentially disrupted. The resultant strains NZΔldh-1 and NZΔldhΔals-1 increased lycopene accumulation to 0.70 and 0.73 mg/L, respectively, while their biomasses were reduced by 12.42% and the intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratios increased by 3.05- and 2.10-fold. To increase the biomasses of these engineered strains, aerobic respiration was activated and tuned by the addition of exogenous heme and oxygen. As a result, the engineered L. lactis strains partly recovered the growth and redox balance, yielding the lycopene levels of 0.91-1.09 mg/L. The engineered L. lactis strain protected the intestinal epithelial cells NCM460 against H2O2 challenge, with a 30.09% increase of cell survival and a 29.2% decrease of the intracellular ROS level compared with strain NZ9000 treatment. In summary, this work established the use of the engineered probiotic L. lactis for lycopene production and prospected its potential in the prevention of intestinal oxidative damage.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiapeng Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xingfang Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoning Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xinyi Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Jian Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Tingting Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, No. 72 Binhai Road, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wang ZK, Gong JS, Qin J, Li H, Lu ZM, Shi JS, Xu ZH. Improving the Intensity of Integrated Expression for Microbial Production. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2796-2807. [PMID: 34738786 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Chromosomal integration of exogenous genes is preferred for industrially related fermentation, as plasmid-mediated fermentation leads to extra metabolic burden and genetic instability. Moreover, with the development and advancement of genome engineering and gene editing technologies, inserting genes into chromosomes has become more convenient; integration expression is extensively utilized in microorganisms for industrial bioproduction and expected to become the trend of recombinant protein expression. However, in actual research and application, it is important to enhance the expression of heterologous genes at the host genome level. Herein, we summarized the basic principles and characteristics of genomic integration; furthermore, we highlighted strategies to improve the expression of chromosomal integration of genes and pathways in host strains from three aspects, including chassis cell optimization, regulation of expression elements in gene expression cassettes, optimization of gene dose level and integration sites on chromosomes. Moreover, we reviewed and summarized the relevant studies on the application of integrated expression in the exploration of gene function and the various types of industrial microorganism production. Consequently, this review would serve as a reference for the better application of integrated expression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zi-Kai Wang
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
- Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| | - Jin-Song Gong
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| | - Jiufu Qin
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| | - Hui Li
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| | - Zhen-Ming Lu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| | - Jin-Song Shi
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| | - Zheng-Hong Xu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
- Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, PR China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Wu J, Xin Y, Kong J, Guo T. Genetic tools for the development of recombinant lactic acid bacteria. Microb Cell Fact 2021; 20:118. [PMID: 34147119 PMCID: PMC8214781 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01607-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a phylogenetically diverse group with the ability to convert soluble carbohydrates into lactic acid. Many LAB have a long history of safe use in fermented foods and are recognized as food-grade microorganisms. LAB are also natural inhabitants of the human intestinal tract and have beneficial effects on health. Considering these properties, LAB have potential applications as biotherapeutic vehicles to delivery cytokines, antigens and other medicinal molecules. In this review, we summarize the development of, and advances in, genome manipulation techniques for engineering LAB and the expected future development of such genetic tools. These methods are crucial for us to maximize the value of LAB. We also discuss applications of the genome-editing tools in enhancing probiotic characteristics and therapeutic functionalities of LAB.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiapeng Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongping Xin
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| | - Tingting Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Mu Y, Xin Y, Guo T, Kong J. Identification and characterization of a moonlighting protein-enolase for surface display in Streptococcus thermophilus. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:132. [PMID: 32552809 PMCID: PMC7301973 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01389-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Streptococcus thermophilus is an important food starter and receiving more attention to serve as cell factories for production of high-valued metabolites. However, the low yields of intracellular or extracellular expression of biotechnological and biomedical proteins limit its practical applications. Results Here, an enolase EnoM was identified from S. thermophilus CGMCC7.179 with about 94% identities to the surface-located enolases from other Streptococcus spp. strains. The EnoM was used as an anchor to achieve surface display in S. thermophilus using GFP as a reporter. After respectively mixing the GFP-EnoM fusion protein or GFP with S. thermophilus cells in vitro, the relative fluorescence units (RFU) of the S. thermophilus cells with GFP-EnoM was 80-folds higher than that with purified GFP. The sharp decrease in the RFU of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) pretreated cells compared to those of non-pretreated cells demonstrated that the membrane proteins were the binding ligand of EnoM. Furthermore, an engineered β-galactosidase (β-Gal) was also successfully displayed on the cell surface of S. thermophilus CGMCC7.179 and the relative activity of the immobilized β-Gal remained up to 64% after reused 8 times. Finally, we also demonstrated that EnoM could be used as an anchor for surface display in L. casei, L. bulgaricus, L. lactis and Leuconostoc lactis. Conclusion To our knowledge, EnoM from S. thermophilus was firstly identified as an anchor and successfully achieved surface display in LAB. The EnoM-based surface display system provided a novel strategy for the enzyme immobilization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yingli Mu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Dadao, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongping Xin
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Dadao, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Tingting Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Dadao, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Dadao, Qingdao, 266237, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|