Researchers at Texas A&M University co-led a $20 million project to develop a $1 approach to cancer**. With federal support, a multi-university research team is developing a highly effective bacterium** that targets cancer more precisely with a single dollar dose, making **safer**.
Traditional cancers have limited effect on patients. Some**, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, produce harmful *** while others** tend to cause the patient to be unresponsive, not to mention the cost of receiving**. According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, 73% of cancer survivors and patients are concerned about how to pay for cancer**, and 51% say they owe medical debt as a result of**. For example, state-of-the-art cancers** can cost up to $1 million.
Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri are leading the development of a low-cost, safe, and manageable approach to cancer**. Researchers received a $20 million anti-cancer grant from the Advanced Health Research Projects Agency (ARPA-H). The project lasts for four years and is the first of its kind"Cancer Month"Part of the plan to drive and increase funding for cancer research. This is one of the first projects to be funded by a newly established agency that aims to accelerate the improvement of everyone's health by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to society's most challenging health problems.
Rapid analysis of cells
Texas A&M University Engineering Experiment Station Texas A&M University's co-principal investigators, Dr. Arum Han, Dr. Jim Song, and Dr. Chelsea Hu, Ph.D., are developing synthetic programmable bacteria (spikes) for immune-directed killing in the tumor setting. The idea is for bacteria to help T cells kill cancerous tissue, and once the cancer cells are gone, the bacteria self-destruct and leave the body safely as human waste.
Spikes can specifically target tumor cells"said Han, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas Instruments. "Since it only targets the cancerous tissue and not the surrounding healthy cells, the safety of the patient is multiplied. It's an honor to join this team and address a major health issue that affects so many people. "
Han's lab is developing a high-throughput microfluidic system that can rapidly process and screen large bacterial libraries, one cell at a time, to quickly identify the most promising methods. By integrating microfabrication methods and biotechnology, these systems have realized a picoliter-capacity liquid handling system that can accurately analyze individual cells with high precision and speed, creating devices for rapid analysis of individual cells.
Han said:"The main challenge is to actually develop these sophisticated miniature devices that allow us to perform millions of fully automated tests with little to no human intervention. That's the engineering challenge. "
Rescue anti-tumor immune cells
While HAN innovates and designs miniature devices, Song – an immunologist with a background in microbial pathogenesis, T cell biology, and T cell-based immunity** has been working on bacterial immunity** for the past five years. A bacterium called Brucella melitensis can manipulate the human microenvironment to promote T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity, resulting in at least four cancers.
Song, a professor at Texas A&M University School of Medicine, said"We are working to improve Brucella in order to prevent or inhibit tumor growth more effectively. The current approach is to find out how to design bacteria to rescue anti-tumor immune cells and increase their efficiency in killing tumor cells. Data to date show that Brucella is significantly more efficient than other cancers such as chimeric antigen receptor T cells** and T cell receptor**, with a response rate of more than 70%. "
While SONG continues to test bacterial efficiency with cancer models, synthetic biologist Hu, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Artie McFehrin, is working to ensure the safety and controllability of live bacteria**.
The Brucella strain we used has been shown to be safe for the host because it is an attenuated version, which means that a key gene required for bacterial virulence has been deleted"hu says. "Ultimately, we want to control the rate of growth of bacteria, where it grows in the tumor environment, and its ability to self-destruct after completing its task. "
To control the growth rate, the bacteria's genes will be altered to regulate their number and oscillate around a specific set point. HU also plans to incorporate biosensors into the bacteria to enable them to distinguish between healthy and tumor tissues, ensuring that bacteria only grow in the tumor microenvironment.
The bacteria will be designed to have a receptor to ensure that once the cancer is gone, the patient can take an antibiotic that will signal the bacteria to essentially cut itself into pieces and safely remove it from the patient's body.
hu says. "As humans, we are actually covered in bacteria, and many diseases are caused by an imbalance in these bacterial communities. For example, some people have very fragile stomachs, while some people have strong stomachs. The science behind this is that people with strong immune and digestive systems have healthy bacterial cell communities in their gut. The living body has a lot of potential. "
It's a great opportunity to have a great team with the expertise and the ability to push this technology to the forefront"hu says. "Therefore, our goal is to enter the clinic and provide patients with effective cancer** at a cost of less than $1 per dose**. "
Solve difficult problems with unconventional methods
Other collaborators include Dr. Zhilei Chen of the Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center, Dr. Xiaoning Qian of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and principal investigator, Dr. Paul DeFigueiredo of the University of Missouri.
The three main advantages of this work are high safety, low cost, and specific targeting of cancerous tumors"Han said:"We are thrilled to be one of the first teams to receive support from ARPA-H, a brand new agency established and supported by the U.S. Congress to truly address the challenges of the broader health sector. We're solving puzzles with unconventional methods. High risk, high impact is the hallmark of our approach"。
The future applications of engineered bacteria opened up by this research are limitless.
Song said:"In our next big project, we'll collaborate on designing bacteria to fight autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Bacterial-based immunity is a groundbreaking frontier in medicine that has the potential to revolutionize the approach to autoimmune diseases. Harnessing the power of beneficial microbes to modulate the immune system, we are on the verge of changing the future of medicine. Our research and expertise have the potential to transform the lives of millions of people, bringing them new hope and a healthier tomorrow. "
Compilation**: scitechdaily