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Synthetic biology

Bacteria synchronized for drug delivery

Nature volume 536, pages 33–34 (2016)Cite this article

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A synthetic genetic circuit that mimics the quorum-sensing systems used by bacterial populations to coordinate gene expression enables bacteria to deliver drugs to mouse tumours in repeated and synchronized cycles. See Letter p.81

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Figure 1: Synchronized cyclical lysis and drug release.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shibin Zhou is in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.,

    Shibin Zhou

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  1. Shibin Zhou
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Correspondence to Shibin Zhou.

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Competing interests

Under a licensing agreement between BioMed Valley Discoveries Inc. and the Johns Hopkins University, S.Z. is entitled to a share of royalties received by the University on sales of products related to therapy using C. novyi-NT bacteria. The terms of the arrangement are under ongoing management by the Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.

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Zhou, S. Bacteria synchronized for drug delivery. Nature 536, 33–34 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18915

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