Team:Bay Area RSI

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer diagnosed in women. RNAi has proven to be an effective mechanism in the silencing of oncogenes. Therefore, we have attempted to build a viable system for the delivery of RNAi into breast cancer cells. First, we inserted a shRNA sequence coding for the Raf-1 protein into an AAV cassette containing two ITR's, allowing it to reproduce itself in mammalian cells. This cassette was inserted into our chosen vector, the filamentous bacteriophage FUSE-55. An antibody sequence was then added to the phage plasmid near the coat protein sequence in order to target HER2. As an additional feature, we have fused Silicatein and Silintaphin to mStrepavidin, which will bind to a protein tag in the coat, forming silicate structures on the coat of the phage, thereby reducing the immunotoxicity of the bacteriophage in vivo.