Difference between revisions of "Team:UCL/Description"

 
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<div id="main">
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<div id="header2">
  
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<h5>Project</h5>
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<div class="bigtitle">
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<div style="height:50px"></div>
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<div class="titlecircle"><span class="title2">Overview</span><hr style="height:1px; border:none; color:#22343; background-color:#22343C;"><p style="margin-top: 5%; line-height: 1.7;font-family:Raleway;">We bring to iGEM the concept of <strong>psychobiotics</strong> and how we can potentially use them to fight the rising issue of <strong>mental health disorders</strong> in the modern world
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<h2> Our Aim </h2>
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<br><span class="arrow"> <a data-scroll data-options='{ "easing": "linear" }' href="#submenu" >&#x25BC; </a></span>
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<div>
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<p>Our plan is to use engineered probiotics that can respond to specific triggers in the gut to treat mental diseases like depression.
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This can be achieved in multiple ways. We are focusing on two main effectors that have an impact on the pathways involved in the brain-gut axis. </p></div>
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<ul>
 
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<li>Tryptophan regulation</li>
 
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<div><p>Our first target is tryptophan metabolism which we are going to control by:</p>
 
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<ol>
 
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<li> inserting an antisense tryptophanase gene into E. coli to repress the expression of tryptophanase. This enzyme is present in most bacterial cells and degrades tryptophan which is the precursor of serotonin. Controlling tryptophanase output would allow accumulation of tryptophan in the cells and thus an increase in serotonin levels which could be a useful target for depression as many patients with depression have low serotonin levels.</li>
 
  
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<li> using the enzyme TPH1 which converts tryptophan to a precursor of serotonin. In a similar way as above this could be a mechanism to elevate the levels of serotonin in people with naturally low levels of this neurotransmitter.</li>
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</div> </div>
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<div id="submenu" style="padding-top: 150px;">
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        <a data-scroll data-options='{ "easing": "linear" }' href="#background" class="buttonblack">Motivation</a>       
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<a data-scroll data-options='{ "easing": "linear" }' href="#constructs" class="buttonblack">What we have done</a>
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<!--<ul>
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<h2><span id="background" style="padding-top: 100px;">Summary</span></h2>
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<div><p></p>
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<br>
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<h2><span id="constructs" style="padding-top: 100px;">What we have done</span></h2>-->
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<!--<h1>Mind the gut</h1>
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<p>fighting mental illness with probiotics-->
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    <h2><span id="background" style="padding-top:150px;">Why mental health?</span></h2>
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<br/>
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    <br/>
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<h4>Millions of people worldwide suffer from mental health disorders and the consequences are severe for the economy, society and individuals. The WHO estimates that depression will be the most second-most important disease burden in the world by 2020, even surpassing cancer. Today already, there are an estimated 450 million people suffering from mental illnesses.</h4>
 +
<h4>However, there is still only limited knowledge about the causes of many mental health diseases  which makes patients face problems such as stigma, misconceptions and side-effects from medication. In recent years research has offered some insight into the connection between mental health and the bacteria inhabiting our bodies, the microbiom. </h4>
 +
<h4>We therefore decided to dedicate our summer to tackle mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety using synthetic biology tools and targeting this connection. Our project is not only a proof of concept that mental health can be addressed with synthetic biology, we also found our project to be effective to reduce the stigma around mental health problems.</h4>
 +
    <br/>
 +
    <br/>
 +
  </div>
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<div class="blockk">
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  <h2><span id="background" style="padding-top:150px;">What we have done</span></h2>
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<br/>
 +
<h4 style="font-size: 20px"><b>Our Parts</b></h4>
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  <br/>
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<h4>We have designed mechanisms in probiotic bacteria that allow them to respond to and take an effect on mental health. This means our probiotics can sense when a person is feeling depressed or anxious or has a panic attack  and can then respond appropriately in order to reduce the symptoms.</h4>
 +
 
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<h4>We have made 6 new parts and have improved 2 parts.</h4>
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<h4>See all our <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:UCL/Parts">Parts</a></h4>
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<h4>One of the basic parts that is central to our project is the TPH1 producing part which is the rate limiting enzyme for serotonin production, one of the human’s most important natural happy-makers <read more about TPH1> </h4>
 +
<br/>
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<h4 style="font-size: 20px"><b>How do our Devices Work?</b></h4>
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  <br/>
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<h4>The devices we made consist of two main components. Detecting modules that sense the existence of a biomarker of depression or anxiety in the gut and responding modules that consist of genes that are involved in the pathways between the brain and the gut, for example TPH1 and Gad, which are important for Serotonin and GABA production.</h4>
 +
 
 +
<!--Good place for an explanatory picture of one of the pathways, or a video! -->
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<h4>More about <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:UCL/Sensors">Detectors</a> and <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:UCL/Effectors">Responding Modules</a></h4>
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 +
 
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<br/>
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<h4 style="font-size: 20px"><b>Human Practices</b></h4>
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  <br/>
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<h4>We organised several events to make people express their feelings about mental health and about GMOs. This includes late night events at the science museum, art exhibitions, interview with stake-holders and more. One of our events, an “open-mind night” was so successful that one of the charities we worked with is making it a monthly event.</h4>
 +
 
 +
<h4>More about our <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:UCL/Practices">Human Practices</a></h4>
 +
<br/>
 +
<h4 style="font-size: 20px"><b>Entrepreneurship</b></h4>
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  <br/>
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<h4>Researchers found out that chocolate was a more efficient delivery method for probiotics than yogurt or milk, so we developed a product that could deliver our bacteria and taste good at the same time. We worked out a complete business model and are about to have our product “Prokao” patented.</h4>
 +
 
 +
<h4>More about <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:UCL/Entrepreneurship">Entrepreneurship</a></h4>
 +
<br/>
 +
<h4 style="font-size: 20px"><b>The Gut-on-a-Chip</b></h4>
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  <br/>
 +
<h4>We developed a model that can be used to imitate conditions in the human gut, even recreating the motion of segmentation and peristalsis, something which has never been done before. This can allow us and future researchers to conduct experiments in controlled conditions without human subjects.</h4>
 +
 
 +
<h4>More about the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Team:UCL/Design">Gut-on-a-Chip</a></h4>
 +
<br/>
 +
<h4 style="font-size: 20px"><b>References</b></h4>
 +
  <br/>
 +
<h4>You can find our references on this page and also by hovering over the references in the texts in our wiki.</h4>
 +
 
  
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<li>inserting the KAT gene (Kynurenine aminotransferase) into E. coli. This enzyme is necessary for the synthesis of kynurenic acid, a metabolite of tryptophan. This enzyme has been linked to schizophrenia and is being considered as a possible target for treatment.</li>
 
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</ol>
 
  
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<li>Neurotransmitters</li>
 
  
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<p>The second part of our project involves the production of neurotransmitters that target the same problems.
 
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Hence, we are using genes expressing the following neurotransmitters:</p>
 
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<li>GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid)</li>
 
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<p>These neurotransmitters are naturally produced by some gut microbes. We want to make them dependent on stimuli present in people with mental health issues.</p>
 
  
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<p>In order to be viable as a treatment for mental disorders like depression the output of neuroactive compounds by bacteria needs to be specific to triggers that are caused by depression in the gut and decrease output when no signals for depression are present. We are therefore testing different promoters in combination with our effectors that could be relevant in this context which includes an adrenaline-sensitive promoter, a nitric-oxide sensing promoter, osmoregulated promoter, and pH-sensitive promoter.</p>
 
  
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Latest revision as of 19:41, 16 November 2015

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Overview

We bring to iGEM the concept of psychobiotics and how we can potentially use them to fight the rising issue of mental health disorders in the modern world
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Why mental health?



Millions of people worldwide suffer from mental health disorders and the consequences are severe for the economy, society and individuals. The WHO estimates that depression will be the most second-most important disease burden in the world by 2020, even surpassing cancer. Today already, there are an estimated 450 million people suffering from mental illnesses.

However, there is still only limited knowledge about the causes of many mental health diseases which makes patients face problems such as stigma, misconceptions and side-effects from medication. In recent years research has offered some insight into the connection between mental health and the bacteria inhabiting our bodies, the microbiom.

We therefore decided to dedicate our summer to tackle mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety using synthetic biology tools and targeting this connection. Our project is not only a proof of concept that mental health can be addressed with synthetic biology, we also found our project to be effective to reduce the stigma around mental health problems.



What we have done


Our Parts


We have designed mechanisms in probiotic bacteria that allow them to respond to and take an effect on mental health. This means our probiotics can sense when a person is feeling depressed or anxious or has a panic attack and can then respond appropriately in order to reduce the symptoms.

We have made 6 new parts and have improved 2 parts.

See all our Parts

One of the basic parts that is central to our project is the TPH1 producing part which is the rate limiting enzyme for serotonin production, one of the human’s most important natural happy-makers


How do our Devices Work?


The devices we made consist of two main components. Detecting modules that sense the existence of a biomarker of depression or anxiety in the gut and responding modules that consist of genes that are involved in the pathways between the brain and the gut, for example TPH1 and Gad, which are important for Serotonin and GABA production.

More about Detectors and Responding Modules


Human Practices


We organised several events to make people express their feelings about mental health and about GMOs. This includes late night events at the science museum, art exhibitions, interview with stake-holders and more. One of our events, an “open-mind night” was so successful that one of the charities we worked with is making it a monthly event.

More about our Human Practices


Entrepreneurship


Researchers found out that chocolate was a more efficient delivery method for probiotics than yogurt or milk, so we developed a product that could deliver our bacteria and taste good at the same time. We worked out a complete business model and are about to have our product “Prokao” patented.

More about Entrepreneurship


The Gut-on-a-Chip


We developed a model that can be used to imitate conditions in the human gut, even recreating the motion of segmentation and peristalsis, something which has never been done before. This can allow us and future researchers to conduct experiments in controlled conditions without human subjects.

More about the Gut-on-a-Chip


References


You can find our references on this page and also by hovering over the references in the texts in our wiki.