2012 iGEM Team

In our project, we aim to utilize a microbe that responds to conditions in human body as an approach to administer smart peptide-based therapies. GLP-1, a human innate neuro-peptide for energy balance, is chosen to combat for obesity and metabolic syndrome. We engineer the non-pathogenic E. coli which senses fatty acids in intestines and secretes synthetic GLP-1. Appropriate signal peptides and penetratin are used to facilitate peptide secretion and intestinal uptake. Furthermore, we design a circuit with quorum sensing and double repressors, which aims to generate quick but sustainable responses and serves as an anti-noise filter. Plasmid stabilization modules including partition system and multimer resolution system are also incorporated to circumvent the undesirable loss or segregational instability of our artificial device. With this general concept of delivery of short peptide into human body, we can also target other human diseases with alternative circuit designs.