Team:Alabama/Human Practices
The University of Alabama’s iGEM team researched how the CDDL gene in E. Coil renders the drug molecules useless to the body. Our research worked towards removing this sequence of DNA From E. Coli to potentially increase the effectiveness of the chemo drug Gemcitabine by. While helping patients overcome a cancer diagnosis sounds all positive, there have to be a few drawbacks, as there are with anything.
Lots of good could come from this discovery. It could make chemotherapy overall more effective. Helping Gemcitabine be more effective could reduce the time spent in the hospital and help patients get back to normal life faster. Each patient spending less time in the hospital means more patients could get treatment from each facility. In the long run, this project has the potential to help save thousands of lives each year.
But there could be some unintentional side effects to altering E. Coli DNA. Editing the DNA of the bacteria is essentially creating a new strain of E. Coli that could accidentally be spread and harm the environment. It could also have other effects on the human body that makes cancer worse or creates new problems that have to be overcome along with cancer, like an infection. Introducing the “new” bacteria to the body could take time some patients do not have and could set them back instead of expediting recovery.
This technology would be regulated by the medical industry and our sponsor, Boston Scientific, along with the US government. The technology would have to go through many phases of testing before it can be used on humans to be approved. It would also have to be prescribed by doctors for use in patients after it was approved by US officials.
Alabama iGEM thought of many potential risks that such a new therapeutic could entail.
Risks involved include:
Ethical risk of potential future use of GMO in the human body against native bacteria.
Safety risk of never being 100% sure that recombinant DNA will stay solely within bacteria and not extend to engineering human DNA.
Safety risk of making sure bacteria stay within human host.
Safety risk of potential that engineering wild type bacteria will excrete chemicals toxic to humans.
Safety risk that modifications to bacteria may make them somewhat pathogenic
Safety risk of antibiotic resistance potentially transferring to other bacteria in host.