Team:TU-Eindhoven/Notebook/Before/Tumor
From 2012.igem.org
Tumortargeting
Cancer is one of the most occurring lethal diseases. Many scientists are looking for `the cure for cancer', but it has not been found yet. By this project, the we wanted to become a part of this research group, to make a difference in the world. Tumor cells are active cells and therefore spread lactic acids [7]. Using chemotaxis, bacteria can move to acid environments to reach the tumor cells. After binding to the tumor cells, the bacteria will disperse signalling molecules. With the use of the quorum sensing mechanism, more signalling molecules will be spread. Quorum sensing is a positive regulating mechanism controlled by population density. The more bacteria are present, the more signaling molecules are dispersed, the more new signaling molecules are made and dispersed. To gather the bacteria, swarming motility, the movement of bacteria due to signaling molecules, will be used. After gathering the bacteria, the tumor cells will be destroyed.