Engineered Bacteria Devour Cancer Tumors Internally

Quick Smiles:

• University of Waterloo team trains hungry bacteria to target tumors.
• Clostridium sporogenes thrives in oxygen-free tumor cores.
• Quorum sensing ensures safe oxygen resistance activation.

A University of Waterloo research team is pioneering a hopeful cancer treatment by engineering Clostridium sporogenes bacteria to eat solid tumors from within.

This soil-dwelling bacterium flourishes in oxygen-free zones, perfectly suited to the necrotic cores of tumors where it multiplies and consumes nutrients.

“Bacteria spores enter the tumor, finding an environment where there are lots of nutrients and no oxygen, which this organism prefers, and so it starts eating those nutrients and growing in size,” said Dr. Marc Aucoin, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo.

“So, we are now colonizing that central space, and the bacterium is essentially ridding the body of the tumor.”

Scientists enhanced the bacteria with an oxygen-tolerance gene and a quorum sensing mechanism that activates it only when enough bacteria gather inside the tumor, preventing growth in healthy areas.

Prior studies confirmed oxygen tolerance and quorum sensing; now, researchers aim to integrate both for pre-clinical tumor trials.

Share this exciting breakthrough in cancer innovation with friends and inspire hope for healthier tomorrows!

Source