2023-08-15 04:00:16
An international team of researchers has just demonstrated that it is possible to “train” a bacterium so that it is able to detect the DNA of colon cancer. This discovery makes it possible to consider the possibility of developing biosensors that will ultimately make it possible to identify infections, cancers and other diseases.
Image d’illustration Pixabay
The goal of researchers at the University of California, San Diego, was to design a bacterium capable of detecting DNA extracts from cancer cells colorectales in mice (The term mouse is an ambiguous vernacular name which can designate, for French speakers, before…). To achieve such a result, they used the bacterium Acinetobacter baylyi, which has the particularity of taking DNA on its way and absorbing it into its own genome (The genome is all the genetic material of a individual or a…). This specificity is called “natural competence”.
Tumors are known to shed fragments of their DNA into the environment around them. Also, scientists have modified the properties of the bacterium so that it seeks (Scientific research designates in the first place all the actions undertaken with a view to…) specifically the gene (A gene is a sequence of deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) which specifies the…) Mutated KRAS (gene known to promote the growth of colorectal cancer (Cancer is a disease characterized by abnormal cell proliferation…)). And it was a success, because not only was the bacterium able to identify this gene, but it was also able to distinguish between true carcinogenic mutations and harmless genetic errors.
The bacterium was then programmed so that if it crossed and incorporated this gene into its own genome, an antibiotic resistance gene would automatically be activated. The researchers then collect stool samples from the mice, which are placed on a dish coated with antibiotics. After looking for these bacteria in the stool, the researchers check whether the stool is resistant to antibiotics. If this is the case, then they can say that they have detected the cancer they are looking for.
This method thus developed is called Cellular Assay of Targeted CRISPR-discriminated horizontal (Horizontal is an orientation parallel to the horizon, and perpendicular to the…) gene transfer (CATCH). To date (The day or the day is the interval which separates sunrise from sunset; it is …), tests carried out on mice have a 100% success rate, and this biosensor is capable of detecting a certain number (The notion of number in linguistics is dealt with in the article “Number…) of mutations, present in around 40% of colorectal cancers, a third of lung cancers (The lung is an invaginated organ allowing the exchange of vital gases, in particular…) and the majority of cancers of the pancreas (The pancreas is an abdominal organ, a gland annexed to the digestive tract. It is…).
However, to date, there is no question of clinical trials. Indeed, more research is needed to confirm the effectiveness of the process, and its safety. However, the researchers are confident, because this use of “biosensors” has already been proven to monitor intestinal health, detect bleeding and even infections and tumors of the liver (The liver is an odd and asymmetrical abdominal organ, housed in humans in…) in mice and pigs.
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