Engineered Skin Bacteria Shows Promise in Acne Treatment
Cutibacterium acnes has been successfully engineered to produce and secrete a therapeutic molecule, opening new possibilities for living therapeutics in various diseases.
- Researchers have successfully engineered Cutibacterium acnes, a type of skin bacterium, to produce and secrete a therapeutic molecule suitable for treating acne symptoms.
- The engineered bacterium has been validated in skin cell lines and its delivery has been validated in mice.
- The genome of Cutibacterium acnes has been edited to secrete and produce NGAL protein, a mediator of the acne drug isotretinoin, which reduces sebum by inducing the death of sebocytes.
- The resulting synthetic bacterium has safety features to enable 'real-life application' and consider it for future human therapeutics.
- The researchers are optimistic about applying these smart microbes to humans as non-engineered C. acnes has already been tested on the skin of patients safely and effectively.
ScienceDaily 
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