Dr. John Rogers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed bioresorbable silicon electronics that can be used for real-time sensing of neural...
Dr. John Rogers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed bioresorbable silicon electronics that can be used for real-time sensing of neural electrical activity. This invention could prevent follow-up neural surgeries, and has potentials for long-term monitoring of patients.
Dr. Andrew Smith from the University of Illinois has developed new quantum dots with a multidentate polymer coating that minimizes size while maintaining stability and...
Dr. Andrew Smith from the University of Illinois has developed new quantum dots with a multidentate polymer coating that minimizes size while maintaining stability and improving efficiency of conjugation. Quantum dots are promising agents for cellular and molecular imaging, but their bulky organic coatings have limited their use in cells. Dr. Smith's quantum dots are small, stable, and can be conjugated to targeting molecules and purified easily.
Dr. Hergenrother from the University of IL has developed a novel antibiotic that is effective against certain antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. His powerful...
Dr. Hergenrother from the University of IL has developed a novel antibiotic that is effective against certain antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. His powerful predictive algorithm determines accumulation of molecules in Gram-negative bacteria and enables conversion of known Gram-positive only antibiotics into novel compounds with Gram-negative potency.
Dr. JJ Cheng from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a helix/random confirmation switchable antimicrobial polypeptides (HRS-AMPs) that are pH...
Dr. JJ Cheng from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a helix/random confirmation switchable antimicrobial polypeptides (HRS-AMPs) that are pH sensitive and can kill Helicobacter pylori. H pylori, a causative agent of gastric ulcers, lives in the acidic environment of the stomach, and these pH activated antimicrobial peptides could be used to kill H pylori. The polypeptides are inactive until reaching the stomach, thus preserving the microbiota of the rest of the GI tract. In vivo data demonstrates good biodistribution, bioavailability, efficacy, and low toxicity compared to standard treatment for H. pylori infection. Moreover, HRS-AMPs are active against MDR and clinical isolate strains.
Dr. Zhang from the University of Illinois has developed a promising candidate protein for a vaccine against cholera. Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused...
Dr. Zhang from the University of Illinois has developed a promising candidate protein for a vaccine against cholera. Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the toxigenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The protein is a multiepitope fusion antigen (MEFA), incorporating virulence factors which are conserved across multiple Vibrio serotypes.
When administered to animals, the cholera MEFA is broadly immunogenic and induces protective antibodies against Vibrio. Since virulence factors from multiple serotypes are included in the fusion protein, this protection can be extended to the various Vibrio serotypes.
The secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) is the predominant antibody in mucosal surfaces, playing a crucial role in immune defense by interacting with both commensal and...
The secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) is the predominant antibody in mucosal surfaces, playing a crucial role in immune defense by interacting with both commensal and pathogenic microbes. The secretory component (SC) is a part of SIgA as well as SIgM (secretory IgM), and facilitates the binding of polymeric IgA and IgM to epithelial cells, allowing their transcytosis and secretion into the lumen. The SC also enhances the stability of SIg by protecting them from proteolytic degradation, aids in their localization in the mucus layer, promotes intralumenal sequestration of bacteria, and performs homeostatic functions in the epithelium.
This technology is a chimeric secretory immunoglobulin A (cSIgA) where the secretory component (SC) is replaced with a single domain antibody. This bispecific cSIgA can bind its target antigen and additional ligands by the engineered SC portion, such as toxins or surface antigens. This can be applied to treatment for mucosal infections such as Clostridium difficile. Compared to unmodified SIgA, cSlgA exhibits increased neutralization potency against C. difficile toxins, promotes bacterial clumping and cell rupture, and has decreased cytotoxicity.
Benefits Bispecific cSIgA binds its target antigen and additional ligands (e.g., toxins or surface antigens)
Applications Anti-infective, Diagnostics, Research Tool
Publication Engineered Secretory Immunoglobulin A provides insights on antibody-based effector mechanisms targeting Clostridiodes difficile Sonya Kumar Bharathkar, Michael J. Miller, Beth M. Stadtmueller bioRxiv 2023.11.08.566291; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.11.08.566291
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a non-invasive method for the early detection of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and -...
Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a non-invasive method for the early detection of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and -negative head and neck cancer using saliva samples. This method has potential research and clinical applications including diagnosis of HPV-positive and -negative head-and-neck cancer. The approach detects several genes characteristic of each type of cancer HNSCC that are commonly detected in head-and-neck cancer.
Applications: Diagnosis of HPV-positive and -negative head-and-neck cancer; research applications
Benefits:
Non-invasive as it only requires saliva from patient
Saliva-based screening is quick (i.e., hours) and easy as it uses common laboratory equipment
Head-and-neck screening can be completed more than the recommendation of once a year because it is low in cost, fast, and non-invasive.
Bacteria-based therapeutics are engineered live microbial cells that produce a drug or perform a metabolic function while inhabiting a specific physiological niche on or...
Bacteria-based therapeutics are engineered live microbial cells that produce a drug or perform a metabolic function while inhabiting a specific physiological niche on or within the host. This targeted therapeutic approach can help minimize negative side effects associated with many drugs (e.g., off-target toxicity from intravenous chemotherapy distributed throughout the entire body). Antibody therapies are also traditionally administered intravenously, but do not accumulate to high levels in the gut and thus have limited impact on gut disease. On the other hand, bacterial therapeutics allow production of antibodies directly within the gut. Current bacterial therapies utilize transient colonizers of the human body (e.g., Escherichia coli, Lactococcus lactis, Salmonella typhimurium), limiting applications in long-term disease treatment and monitoring. Bacteroides species, are long-term stable colonizers of the human gut and are thus a promising for developing long-term bacterial therapeutics and diagnostics. Bacteroides also benefit from already being highly abundant and prevalent in the human gut microbiota. However, more work is required in identifying and optimizing protein secretion machinery for Bacteroides species.
This technology is a molecular toolkit for engineering of the stable gut colonizing bacteria Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. The system allows expression and secretion of protein cargos from multiple Bacteroides species. In contrast to transient colonizers such as E. coli, Bacteroides can be better leveraged for long-term therapeutic and diagnostic applications, providing a platform for targeted approaches to the treatment of ailments such as cancer and gut-related diseases.
Benefits
Effective secretion achieved in multiple Bacterioides speices. Preserved function for the secreted cargo.
Application
Bacterial-based therapeutics, Gut microbiome
Publication
Yeh, YH., Kelly, V.W., Rahman Pour, R. et al. A molecular toolkit for heterologous protein secretion across Bacteroides species. Nat Commun 15, 9741 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53845-7
