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Team:UC Davis
From 2009.igem.org
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every 133 Americans suffer from an autoimmune disorder called Celiac | every 133 Americans suffer from an autoimmune disorder called Celiac | ||
Disease | Disease | ||
| - | (14, 11). Celiac Disease is a condition | + | (14, 11). Celiac Disease is a condition in which the small intestines of |
an | an | ||
affected individual cannot properly digest gliadin, a protein present | affected individual cannot properly digest gliadin, a protein present | ||
in gluten. | in gluten. | ||
When | When | ||
| - | consumed, gliadin induces immune system responses, | + | consumed, gliadin induces immune system responses, the |
| - | side-effects are, | + | side-effects of which are, |
| - | but not limited to abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea and vomiting (14). | + | but not limited to: abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, and vomiting (14). |
Currently, the only accepted treatment for this disorder is adhering to | Currently, the only accepted treatment for this disorder is adhering to | ||
a | a | ||
| Line 98: | Line 98: | ||
criteria. | criteria. | ||
First, it | First, it | ||
| - | should be able to survive only in the stomach; | + | should be able to survive only in the stomach; second, it should secrete an |
enzyme | enzyme | ||
| - | that | + | that degrades gliadin<i>.</i> We envision that these parts would |
not | not | ||
only be useful for our project, but also to other future projects.</span><span | only be useful for our project, but also to other future projects.</span><span | ||
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| | ||
We decided to focus our summer project on building the | We decided to focus our summer project on building the | ||
| - | first of two key elements | + | first of the two key elements |
required for | required for | ||
our system:<o:p></o:p><br> | our system:<o:p></o:p><br> | ||
Revision as of 18:07, 21 October 2009
It
is estimated that about one in
every 133 Americans suffer from an autoimmune disorder called Celiac
Disease
(14, 11). Celiac Disease is a condition in which the small intestines of
an
affected individual cannot properly digest gliadin, a protein present
in gluten.
When
consumed, gliadin induces immune system responses, the
side-effects of which are,
but not limited to: abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, and vomiting (14).
Currently, the only accepted treatment for this disorder is adhering to
a
gluten-free diet (14, 12). This can be very difficult as great
varieties of
food contain gluten. This inspired us to imagine an alternative
treatment based on a probiotic organism
that can
survive and take residence in the stomach, where it would secrete an
enzyme that
will degrade gliadin.
Then the design
elements of this organism should satisfy at least two main
criteria.
First, it
should be able to survive only in the stomach; second, it should secrete an
enzyme
that degrades gliadin. We envision that these parts would
not
only be useful for our project, but also to other future projects.
We decided to focus our summer project on building the
first of the two key elements
required for
our system:
1. Produce an
inducible secretion
system
2. Construct a
biological pH sensor limiting this secretion system to
the
stomach
We want to thank Marc Facciotti for his helpful advice.
Special thanks to Suzy Fenton,Wayne Fenton, Jeanne Joe-Fenton and Wayne Fenton Jr.
Also we thank Charles H. Halsted for reviewing our material regarding celiac disease.
