A cellular device to target cancer cells

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, affecting one out of three people during their lifetime. Due to its severity and high incidence, numerous treatment methods have been implemented, with the Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell (CAR-T) therapy remaining the most promising one. Other therapy options such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy remain the backbone of cancer treatment, however these therapies are not effective enough as they do not discriminate among the healthy and cancerous tissues. Therefore, there is an imperative need in developing novel cancer treatment therapies that offer precise localization and on target therapeutics release. In this study, we aim to develop an engineered bacterial device, that can sense Jimt1 breast cancer cells, which are characterized by overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). 2Rs15d, a nanobody that binds to HER2 receptor, is expressed on the surface of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) via Ag43 autotransporter protein. Upon localization in the tumor site, a therapeutic agent will be released on the outer surface. By creating this platform, we aim to target the main problems of the existing cancer therapies.