Microbial intestinal therapeutics

Bacterial therapeutic for phenylketonuria (PKU)

https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.4222

Phenylketonuria, often known as PKU, is a genetic disorder resulting incomplete metabolism of phenylalanine, and it causes extreme neurotoxicity if not strictly controlled by diet, which is difficult. In this study an Escherichia coli strain engineered to degrade phenylalanine to harmless products was tested in a mouse model.

Genetically modified bacteria treating illness

https://www.npr.org/sections/health‐shots/2019/03/08/687370312/a‐gulp‐of‐genetically‐modified‐bacteria‐might‐someday‐treat‐a‐range‐of‐illnesses

This news article discusses microbial disease therapies with a focus on treating PKU as an example.

Therapeutic microbes to tackle disease

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586‐020‐00201‐6

This review discusses single engineered bacteria strains and microbial consortia used in treating various human diseases.

Microbial therapies for inflammatory bowel disease

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6335320/

Inflammatory bowel disease is a complex set of disorders that involve intestinal microbes and host inflammatory responses. Human studies are suggesting some promising lines for developing new therapies.

Gut microbiota modulation for colorectal cancer

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41388‐020‐1341‐1

This review article discusses research on colonization resistance for pathogenic bacteria, mucosal immunomodulation and probiotic use in prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer.

Can intestinal microbes help fight cancer?

https://www.sciencemag.org/features/2020/11/can‐patients‐gut‐microbes‐help‐fight‐cancer

This review article focuses on the interactions between microbes and host T cells in the intestine.

Gut microbes and ulcerative colitis

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/gut‐microbes‐could‐be‐key‐to‐treating‐ulcerative‐colitis

This article summarizes findings that some people with ulcerative colitis lack a specific bacterium involved in bile acid metabolism and it considered supplementation with the missing microbe.

Q&A for fecal transplants

https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo‐clinic‐q‐and‐a‐fecal‐transplant‐for‐treatment‐of‐clostridium‐difficile/

This question and answer page from the Mayo Clinic covers fecal transplants for the treatment of Clostridium difficile.

Microbial cocktails for C. diff.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587‐020‐00765‐8

While undefined fecal transplants have proven to be effective therapeutically, this article describes an effort to produce a capsule of bacteria with a more defined composition to be used to treat C. difficile.

Clostridium difficile

http://www.antimicrobe.org/new/b113.asp

This article discusses all of the standard treatments for C. difficile, from antibiotics to biotherapies.

Microbiome‐based therapies

https://www.biospace.com/article/the‐brave‐new‐world‐of‐microbiome‐based‐therapies/

This article focuses on various business startups and partnerships that have emerged in an effort to commercialize microbe‐based disease therapies.

The “psychobiome”

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/meet‐psychobiome‐gut‐bacteria‐may‐alter‐how‐you‐think‐feel‐and‐act

A relatively recent area of gut microbiome research focus on how microbes might help treat ailments such depression and insomnia. This general article discusses developments in this field.