肿瘤靶向细菌Escherichia coli Nissle1917在癌症治疗中的研究进展

传统化疗、放疗等癌症治疗手段存在靶向性差、毒副作用大等问题。肿瘤靶向细菌可以特异性定殖于实体肿瘤微环境,通过基因工程改造可以使其在实体肿瘤内持续合成并释放抗癌药物,提高药物对肿瘤组织的选择性,避免化疗药物对正常组织的伤害,成为近年来癌症靶向治疗的研究热点。Escherichia coli Nissle 1917(EcN)作为一种被广泛研究和应用的益生菌,没有致病性,不产生免疫毒副作用,且具有高效的肿瘤靶向定殖能力,能在正常组织中迅速被清除,因此在癌症细菌疗法中备受关注。针对EcN在癌症靶向治疗研究方面的最新进展进行综述,介绍了通过基因工程提高其靶向性、可控性和安全性的方法,并介绍了EcN在辅助其他癌症治疗方面的应用。随着基因工程和合成生物学技术的进步,人们对细菌功能的设计合成能力不断增强,EcN作为可编程的活体药物,有希望发展成为对抗癌症的有力武器。     

利用转座子构建靶向侵袭性抗肿瘤工程菌

转座子是一类在基因组上可以自由跳跃的移动序列,同时也是对微生物进行基因修饰和插入突变的有效工具,但尚未见有利用转座子导入革兰氏阴性菌E.coli Nissle1917菌株的报道.本研究通过构建p R6K转座载体,对肠道益生菌E.coli Nissle1917菌株进行了转座插入诱变,将假结核耶尔森菌的侵袭素基因inv和单核细胞增多性李斯特菌的溶血素基因hly随机整合至E.coli Nissle1917菌株的染色体上,从而使非致病性大肠杆菌E.coli Nissle1917获得侵袭哺乳动物细胞的能力.通过细胞体外侵袭实验发现,本研究所构建的工程菌对B16,HCT-116等肿瘤细胞有较好的侵袭活性,同时与抗肿瘤蛋白Azurin一起作用B16细胞,抗肿瘤效果显著增强,为进一步运用以大肠杆菌E.coli Nissle1917作为DNA疫苗或者基因治疗的载体开辟了新的技术途径.     

活菌作为智能递送载体用于肿瘤治疗的研究进展

细菌经常被用作药物的载体实现被装载药物的肿瘤靶向、深部组织渗透等。近年来，通过合成生物学技术对细菌的基因进行改造，赋予了细菌环境感知和响应的功能，实现了细菌负荷药物的时空调控，促进细菌作为递送载体向更加智能化的方向发展。为此，本文综述了近年来利用细菌作为药物载体，以及基于环境感知和响应控制药物释放的细菌智能递送载体应用于癌症治疗的研究进展，最后对未来智能化的细菌载体应用于癌症治疗进行展望。     

细菌介导的肿瘤治疗研究进展

癌症是导致人类死亡的主要原因之一。尽管现代医学在癌症治疗方面取得了重大进展,但由于癌症的异质性、耐药性和治疗副作用等问题,传统治疗手段仍存在局限性。随着科学技术的不断发展,细菌治疗在肿瘤治疗领域展现出巨大潜力。细菌因其生存特性具有天然的肿瘤靶向能力,并含有大量免疫激活物质,可调节肿瘤微环境并激活免疫系统以达到杀伤肿瘤的目的。部分细菌还能通过多种途径直接杀伤肿瘤细胞并抑制肿瘤血管生成。此外,科学家们在深入探索过程中发现,细菌联合放疗、化疗和免疫治疗等方法逐渐成为细菌治疗的主流策略。并可根据临床需求,将外源性基因导入细菌以发挥特定功能。细菌疗法通过与多种治疗方式联用来克服各自的治疗缺陷,提高肿瘤的治疗效果并降低其毒性副作用。从细菌治疗的基本原理、常用于肿瘤治疗的细菌种类、细菌治疗的优化策略及临床试验和案例等方面进行综述。希望通过充分发挥细菌的治疗潜力,为癌症患者提供更加有效的治疗手段。     

沙门氏菌抗肿瘤疗法在合成生物学时代的发展和机遇

在世界各国，癌症是导致死亡的主要原因之一，也是提高人类预期寿命的重要障碍。目前临床上主流的分子靶向疗法和免疫疗法还不能完全治愈肿瘤且常常副作用巨大，其中原因较为复杂。而以沙门氏菌抗肿瘤疗法为代表的细菌抗肿瘤疗法具有潜力弥补分子靶向疗法和免疫疗法在肿瘤靶向性上的不足。本文将从目前癌症治疗的困境出发，回顾细菌抗肿瘤疗法的历史，阐述基因工程与合成生物学时代沙门氏菌抗肿瘤疗法的进展，论述其作为下一代抗肿瘤微型机器人的潜力。最终，我们希望在靶向肿瘤治疗领域激发思想火花，克服沙门氏菌抗肿瘤疗法的局限性，推进其临床应用。     

肿瘤细菌疗法迎来合成生物学时代

早于放疗、化疗等经典肿瘤疗法,细菌疗法的临床应用在1868年就已被报道。虽然细菌拥有天然的肿瘤靶向能力、侵袭能力和细胞毒性,种类繁多且可塑性强,然而,由于其作用机理不清、可控性弱、安全性差等诸多问题,限制了它作为肿瘤治疗药物的开发和应用。近年来,合成生物学的兴起为肿瘤细菌疗法赋予了新的希望,让它重新回到了人们的视野。合成基因线路的研究(如自杀开关、群体感应线路、振荡器和记忆线路等)有助于实现细菌结构重塑、毒性降低、靶向性增强、表型时空可控等特性,从而提高人们对细菌疗法的操控能力。该文概述细菌疗法的发展历程,介绍合成细菌诊疗肿瘤的重要成果,探讨如何利用合成生物学手段重编程细菌,深度优化肿瘤细菌疗法。     

克隆基因表达产物-包含体的形成及纯化策略

目前,来自病毒、细菌和哺乳动物的许多基因已被克隆到质粒中,在启动子的调节下在E.coli中得到表达。在许多情况下,这种基因所表达的蛋白产物大部分是以一种不溶性的形式—“包含体”(inclusion bodies)存在于E.coli的胞浆之中。这种以包含体形式而存在的克隆基因产物,已引起了生物工程界的重视,因为它对生物工程的下游工作即纯化工作的影响非凡,目前对包含体的形成机制还有争议,本文将讨论这方面的进展。     

构建表达IL 2的大肠埃希菌对小鼠肠炎的影响

目的以Escherichia coli Nissle 1917为基础建立一种与肠道菌群相关的新型白介素2(IL-2)递送方式,研究其对葡聚糖硫酸钠(DSS)诱导的实验性结肠炎的治疗作用。方法将小鼠随机分为4组(每组10只),以正常小鼠作为空白对照组,实验组小鼠用3%的DSS水诱导小鼠结肠炎模型,分别灌胃表达IL-2的菌株(E.coli 1917/IL-2)、空质粒转化的菌株(E.coli 1917/0)或PBS进行治疗5 d,定期评估各组小鼠的临床体征、疾病活动指数(DAI)、病理和免疫组织学变化。结果构建的益生工程菌E.coli 1917/IL-2可有效缓解DSS诱导的小鼠肠炎,小鼠DAI评分较低,体质量及结肠长度均高于对照组,肠黏膜组织中炎症细胞浸润较少。结论使用工程化益生大肠埃希菌编码免疫调节细胞因子的治疗策略为溃疡性结肠炎提供一种潜在的治疗方法。     

工程生物活药在肿瘤免疫治疗中的应用

人体细胞、细菌、病毒等生命体可以改造为工程生物活药,可在患者体内维持生物活性、自我复制并表达基因。相比于传统药物,工程生物活药在体内维持疗效时间长,具备外源基因表达能力,可实现多功能性和稳态调控,且具有独特的靶向、响应等能力。近年来,工程生物活药在肿瘤免疫治疗中的应用受到广泛关注,CAR-T等细胞治疗、溶瘤病毒疗法已在临床中获得良好的疗效,工程菌也在临床和临床前研究中发展迅猛。细胞、细菌、病毒三类活药的特性和治疗机制不同,因此具有不同的设计目的与思路。随着合成生物学技术的发展,工程生物活药将更安全、更高效,也将为肿瘤治疗带来新的机遇。针对工程生物活药在肿瘤免疫治疗中应用的最新进展开展了综述,阐述了不同生物活药的合成生物学设计和免疫治疗机制。     

肠道免疫的安全靶向载体:大肠杆菌Nissle1917

长期以来,如何激发高效的肠道黏膜免疫应答来预防肠道感染始终是较为棘手的问题.本文旨在对大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)Nissle 1917作为肠道黏膜免疫的安全靶向载体,调理胃肠道菌群紊乱、缓解溃疡性结肠炎以及利用益生菌固有特性或优化特性进行治疗的可能性等相关研究进展作一综述.大肠杆菌Nissle 1917(EcN)是一株可口服的优良益生菌,也可作为生物载体活苗候选株,兼有较强的肠道局部定殖能力和无免疫原性的特性.该菌株还可以作为载体靶向递呈TAT-凋亡素融合蛋白治疗结肠直肠癌,并在研发靶向递呈防御素治疗溃疡性结肠炎和克罗恩病上具有重要的功能.其基因修饰株能够原位递呈特定的抗原分子,有效激发特异性的黏膜免疫应答.重组大肠杆菌Nissle-HA 110-120具有体外表达特异性抗原的能力,但EcN菌体本身不会引起黏膜免疫应答,也不影响对自身抗原的外周免疫耐受.同时,EcN具有很好的安全性,尤其是因炎症导致肠道防御屏障破坏的时候,重组大肠杆菌Nissle-HA110-120在健康或患有急性结肠炎的小鼠体内都没有迁移、克隆扩增和激活特异性CD4+T淋巴细胞的作用.     

益生菌Escherichia coli Nissle1917功能研究进展

大肠埃希菌Nissle1917,简称EcN,是益生菌中为数不多的革兰氏阴性菌,在临床上主要用于克罗恩病、溃疡性结肠炎等胃肠功能障碍。其机制在于EcN能在人体肠道定殖,并阻止病原菌对肠道黏膜的侵袭,对肠道黏膜屏障具有保护和修护作用。EcN还参与机体的免疫调控,平衡免疫因子的分泌,增强宿主免疫能力,进而缓解和治疗炎症。最进研究发现,EcN具有肿瘤靶向作用,是良好的药物载体,且与化疗药物联用可增强药物抗肿瘤的疗效,为抗肿瘤治疗提供了新的思路。     

Bioengineered Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 for tumour-targeting therapy

Bacterial vectors, as microscopic living ‘robotic factories’, can be reprogrammed into microscopic living ‘robotic factories’, using a top-down bioengineering approach to produce and deliver anticancer agents. Most of the current research has focused on bacterial species such as Salmonella typhimurium or Clostridium novyi. However, Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) is another promising candidate with probiotic properties. EcN offers increased applicability for cancer treatment with the development of new molecular biology and complete genome sequencing techniques. In this review, we discuss the genetics and physical properties of EcN. We also summarize and analyse recent studies regarding tumour therapy mediated by EcN. Many challenges remain in the development of more promising strategies for combatting cancer with EcN.     

Quality control of biotechnology-derived vaccines: technical and regulatory considerations

Vaccines for human use have been produced for decades using classical manufacturing methods including culture of viruses and bacteria followed by various concentration-, inactivation-, detoxification-, conjugation production processes. Availability of techniques for molecular biology and for the complete chemical synthesis of genes provides prospects of genetic engineering of microorganisms so as to generate novel biotechnological/biological-derived vaccines. The potential large-scale availability of biotechnology-derived vaccines makes feasible their evaluation in the prevention and/or treatment of various infectious, chronic, degenerative and cancer human diseases. There are potential safety concerns that arise from the novel manufacturing processes and from the complex structural and biological characteristics of the products. These products have distinguishing characteristics to which consideration should be given in a well-defined quality control testing programme. The evaluation of their quality, safety, efficacy and stability necessitate complex analytical methods and appropriate physicochemical, biochemical and immunochemical methods for the analysis of the molecular entity. A flexible approach to the control of these novel products is being developed by regulatory authorities so that recommendations can be modified in the light of experience of research and development in vaccinology, production and use of biotechnology products and with the further development of new technologies.     

活体生物药的应用及在遗传性代谢缺陷病治疗中的展望

活体生物药(live biotherapeutic products,LBPs)是指来自于人体肠道内或自然界中能够治疗人类疾病的活性菌。但天然筛选的活菌存在治疗效果不明显、差异性较大等缺点,难以满足个性化诊疗的需要。近年来,随着合成生物学的发展,研究者利用生命科学及工程科学手段,设计并构建了若干可响应外界复杂环境信号的工程菌株,加快了活体生物药的研发和应用过程。遗传性代谢缺陷病(inherited metabolic disease)是因体内某些酶的遗传缺陷致使体内相应的代谢物不能正常代谢而引发一系列临床症状的一类疾病,因此利用合成生物学技术,针对特定缺陷的酶设计重组活体生物药,未来有希望用于遗传性代谢缺陷病的治疗。本综述以活体生物药为切入点,并结合国内外文献综述,来探讨活体生物药在疾病治疗中的应用,以及对遗传性代谢缺陷病治疗的潜力。     

Efficient markerless integration of genes in the chromosome of probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 by bacterial conjugation

The probiotic strain Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) is a common bacterial chassis in synthetic biology developments for therapeutic applications given its long track record of safe administration in humans. Chromosomal integration of the genes of interest (GOIs) in the engineered bacterium offers significant advantages in genetic stability and to control gene dose, but common methodologies relying on the transformation of EcN are inefficient. In this work, we implement in EcN the use of bacterial conjugation in combination with markerless genome engineering to efficiently insert multiple GOIs at different loci of EcN chromosome, leaving no antibiotic resistance genes, vector sequences or scars in the modified bacterium. The resolution of cointegrants that leads to markerless insertion of the GOIs requires expression of I-SceI endonuclease and its efficiency is enhanced by λ Red proteins. We show the potential of this strategy by integrating different genes encoding fluorescent and bioluminescent reporters (i.e. GFP, mKate2, luxCDABE) both individually and sequentially. We also demonstrate its application for gene deletions in EcN (ΔflhDC) and to replace the endogenous regulation of chromosomal locus (i.e. flhDC) by heterologous regulatory elements (e.g. tetR-Ptet) in order to have an ectopic control of gene expression in EcN with an external inducer to alter bacterial behaviour (e.g. flagellar motility). Whole-genome sequencing confirmed the introduction of the designed modifications without off-target alterations in the genome. This straightforward approach accelerates the generation of multiple modifications in EcN chromosome for the generation of living bacterial therapeutics.     

Biochemical determination of natural tumor-associated T-cell epitopes

The knowledge of tumor-associated T-cell epitopes is important for the understanding of tumor biology and the development of cancer vaccines. We describe here a biochemical approach for the identification of tumor-associated T-cell epitopes. Peptides are extracted from immunoaffinity isolated MHC class I molecules of tumor cells and separated by HPLC. The HPLC fractions are then tested for biological activity of the peptides which are then sequenced by mass spectrometry. The tumor association of the identified T-cell epitopes is confirmed using synthetic analogs and T-cells of cancer patients.     

Mechanistic Insight into the TH1-Biased Immune Response to Recombinant Subunit Vaccines Delivered by Probiotic Bacteria-Derived Outer Membrane Vesicles

Recombinant subunit vaccine engineering increasingly focuses on the development of more effective delivery platforms. However, current recombinant vaccines fail to sufficiently stimulate protective adaptive immunity against a wide range of pathogens while remaining a cost effective solution to global health challenges. Taking an unorthodox approach to this fundamental immunological challenge, we isolated the TLR-targeting capability of the probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 bacteria (EcN) by engineering bionanoparticlate antigen carriers derived from EcN outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). Exogenous model antigens expressed by these modified bacteria as protein fusions with the bacterial enterotoxin ClyA resulted in their display on the surface of the carrier OMVs. Vaccination with the engineered EcN OMVs in a BALB/c mouse model, and subsequent mechanism of action analysis, established the EcN OMV’s ability to induce self-adjuvanted robust and protective humoral and T_H1-biased cellular immunity to model antigens. This finding appears to be strain-dependent, as OMV antigen carriers similarly engineered from a standard K12 E. coli strain derivative failed to generate a comparably robust antigen-specific T_H1 bias. The results demonstrate that unlike traditional subunit vaccines, these biomolecularly engineered “pathogen-like particles” derived from traditionally overlooked, naturally potent immunomodulators have the potential to effectively couple recombinant antigens with meaningful immunity in a broadly applicable fashion.     

Oncolytic enteroviruses

The growing body of knowledge concerning the molecular biology of viruses and virus-cell interactions provides possibilities to use viruses as a tool in an effort to treat malignant tumors. As a rule, tumor cells are highly sensitive to viruses, which can be used in cancer therapy. At the same time, the application of viral oncolysis in cancer treatment requires that the highest possible safety be ensured for both the patient and environment. Human enteroviruses are a convenient source for obtaining oncolytic virus strains, since many of them are nonpathogenic for humans or cause mild disease. The current progress in genetic engineering enables the development of attenuated enterovirus variants characterized with high safety and selectivity. This review focuses on the main members of the Enterovirus genus, such as ECHO, coxsackievirus, and vaccine strains of poliovirus as a promising source for the development of oncolytic agents applicable for cancer therapy. We have summarized the data concerning recently developed and tested oncolytic variants of enteroviruses and discusses the perspectives of their application in cancer therapy, as well as problems associated with their improvement and practical use.     

Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 for probiotic use in piglets: evidence for intestinal colonization

Aims:  This study was prompted to investigate the intestinal localization and colonization of orally administered Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) in piglets.
Methods and Results:  EcN was fed to ten EcN-negative piglets (3 months) over seven consecutive days. Faecal samples were collected repeatedly and tested for EcN-DNA by a combined culture/PCR assay and for viable EcN by culture methods, respectively. EcN-DNA was detectable in faeces of all piglets within the first 24 h after it was added to the feed. After the administration of EcN had been stopped, the presence of EcN-DNA in faecal samples indicated that all piglets shedded EcN with their faeces intermittently through up to 33 days. In addition, E. coli strains indistinguishable from EcN by all markers tested (rdar colony morphotype, multiplex PCR and GEI II-PCR analyses, Xba I-pattern, K5 phage susceptibility) were isolated from faecal samples and from mucosal swabs taken at euthanasia at the end of the experiment.
Conclusions:  EcN colonizes the intestine and persists in conventionally reared piglets for at least 4 weeks upon oral administration.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  Results of this study have implications for efficacy and safety assessments of EcN as a probiotic strain for use in pigs.     

E. coli Nissle microencapsulation in alginate-chitosan nanoparticles and its effect on Campylobacter jejuni in vitro

Microencapsulation enhances the oral delivery of probiotic bacteria. In this study, the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) was microencapsulated using alginate and chitosan nanoparticles. The result showed 90% encapsulation yield of EcN, and the encapsulated EcN displayed significantly (P < 0.05) increased survival in low pH (1.5), high bile salt concentration (4%), and high temperature (70 °C). The most effective cryopreservatives of EcN during freezing and thawing was skim milk and sucrose. Exposure to microencapsulated EcN significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the Campylobacter jejuni growth by 2 log CFU. The rate of EcN release from microcapsule was 9.2 × 10⁵ cell min⁻¹, and the appropriate model to describe its release kinetics was zero order. Importantly, the entrapment of EcN inside the microcapsule did not eliminate the exterior diffusion of EcN produced antioxidant compounds. In addition, the EcN microcapsule efficiently adhered to intestinal HT-29 cells and the pre-treatment of HT-29 cells with EcN-microcapsule for 4 h significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the invasion (1.9 log) of C. jejuni; whereas, completely abolished the intracellular survival. Furthermore, HT-29 cells pre-treated with encapsulated EcN in PCR array showed decreased expression (> 1.5-fold) of genes encoding chemokines, toll-like receptors, interleukins, and tumor necrosis factors. In conclusion, the alginate-chitosan microcapsule can provide effectual platform to deliver probiotic EcN and thereby can reduce the Campylobacter infection in chickens and humans.