Stanford researchers have engineered an organism to fight cancer
Reprogramming a friendly, skin-dwelling bacteria has helped to fight tumors in mice.
Chen and some colleagues at Stanford had eliminated an aggressive form of skin cancer from mice— simply by rubbing a swab of bacteria on their furry little heads.
The swab contained genetically engineered forms of a bacteria called Staphylococcus epidermidis. Commonly found on human skin, Staphylococcus epidermidis is an innocuous enough passenger, minding its own business without triggering an immune response.
“Human skin is the natural home for staph epidermidis,” Fischbach said. “In humans, the bug will colonize more efficiently, potentially leading to a constantly renewing supply of tumor-specific T cells.”
the new treatment has thus far only been tested in mice. However, the researchers do have some reason to be hopeful; previous studies have shown that S. epidermidis causes the creation of CD8 T cells in primates as well as mice, and humans are its favorite home.
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