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Team:KULeuven/Project
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As cancer cells need a lot of energy to replicate themselves, they should be well provided with blood. Therefore, blood cells could be the right choice for in situ treatment of cancer. First, we should immobilize these blood cells on the cancer cells. Subsequently, these blood cells should secrete specific agents that reduce the activity of the cancer cells. (These 2 steps may come in handy if we want to split up in 2 subgroups) | As cancer cells need a lot of energy to replicate themselves, they should be well provided with blood. Therefore, blood cells could be the right choice for in situ treatment of cancer. First, we should immobilize these blood cells on the cancer cells. Subsequently, these blood cells should secrete specific agents that reduce the activity of the cancer cells. (These 2 steps may come in handy if we want to split up in 2 subgroups) | ||
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| + | * Sounds like a great idea! [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avastin Anti-angiogenic therapy] is one of the big hopes for anti-tumor treatments. But let's keep in mind that angiogenesis (the formation of blood vessels) is only a late hallmark of tumors [http://www.google.be/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.weizmann.ac.il%2Fhome%2Ffedomany%2FBioinfo05%2Flecture6_Hanahan.pdf&ei=-7E2SLbLGJCE1wblseHQDQ&usg=AFQjCNHirXaVMmdQNGl-72bk5jRva4106Q&sig2=L18rRG56VaP9wIB_mAENpA (more about these hallmarks of cancer -PDF)]. It is however a '''significant barrier''' to break through if the tumor has to grow past a certain (very limited) size. So this would be more like a therapy for later-stage malignancies, which would also be great because it's often the metastasis (the spreading of) of the tumor that is causing the more visible effects of the cancer. (pain, deterioration, ... and eventually, if untreated death). - [[user:Zeunas|Jonas]] 12:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC) | ||
| + | * Anyhow, if we proceed with this idea, it will be a challenge to get everything ready and produced in the erythrocyte (red blood cell) before it loses it's nucleus and thus also the ability to initiate ''de novo'' transcription. And to keep all this machinery silent in non-docked erythrocytes. I'm liking this challenge though :) - [[user:Zeunas|Jonas]] 12:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC) | ||
= Our project details= | = Our project details= | ||
Revision as of 12:09, 23 May 2008
| Home | The Team | Road Map | The Project | Parts Submitted to the Registry | Modeling | Notebook |
|---|
Contents |
Project brainstorm
Favourite previous iGEM projects
Maarten Breckpot
Nathalie Busschaert
Jonas Demeulemeester
- Virotrap Ljubljana 2007
- RNAi enhanced logic circuit Princeton 2007
- Other nice parts/devices:
- Caltech: Riboswitch design for targeted cell death/molecular sensor
- Cambridge: Inducible bigger pore protein for E.coli
- Harvard: Quorum-sensing & targeting!
- Melbourne: Red/blue light responsive system through chimeric photoreceptors-kinases
- Peking U: λ-based bistable switch = very powerful
- UCSF: compartmentalization! Rewired MAPK cascade signaling through scaffolds ≅ circuit board
Andim Doldurucu
Jan Mertens
Benjamien Moeyaert
Stefanie Roberfroid
- Bacteria Online
- Bactoblood
- RNAi enhanced logic circuit
- some other nice ideas
- Self-flavouring yoghurt
- Detection of metals: Lead, Copper
Hanne Tytgat
Elke Van Assche
Nick Van Damme
--> idea: solve a nice mathematical problem
- several electronical/biological components to build an entire complex combinational logic system
- Extensible Logic Circuit in Bacteria: both components and linking
- Comparator
- Schmitt trigger
--> idea: build an integrator to solve your own ODE's, also build a differentiator to make a PID-controller
Antoine Vandermeersch
Dries Vercruysse
Sigrid De Keersmaecker
- Sensing & removing Hg ions - MIT 2007
- Self-flavouring yoghurt - Edinburgh 2007
- Biological Timer - Missouri Miners 2007
- Virotrap - Ljubljana 2007
- GlucOperon - Taipei 2007
- Solar Bacter - Berkeley_LBL 2007
- Bactoblood - Berkeley_UC 2007
iGEM judging tracks
- Foundational Research - basic science and engineering research
- Information Processing - genetically encoded control, logic, and memory
- Energy - biological fuels, feedstocks, and other energy projects
- Environment- sensing bioremediation of environmental state
- Health & Medicine - applied projects with the goal of directly improving the human condition
Other
Idea exchange - iGEM ideas posted by other teams
Our project
Our abstract
A first idea: cancer treatment with genetically modified blood cells
As cancer cells need a lot of energy to replicate themselves, they should be well provided with blood. Therefore, blood cells could be the right choice for in situ treatment of cancer. First, we should immobilize these blood cells on the cancer cells. Subsequently, these blood cells should secrete specific agents that reduce the activity of the cancer cells. (These 2 steps may come in handy if we want to split up in 2 subgroups)
- Sounds like a great idea! Anti-angiogenic therapy is one of the big hopes for anti-tumor treatments. But let's keep in mind that angiogenesis (the formation of blood vessels) is only a late hallmark of tumors (more about these hallmarks of cancer -PDF). It is however a significant barrier to break through if the tumor has to grow past a certain (very limited) size. So this would be more like a therapy for later-stage malignancies, which would also be great because it's often the metastasis (the spreading of) of the tumor that is causing the more visible effects of the cancer. (pain, deterioration, ... and eventually, if untreated death). - Jonas 12:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
- Anyhow, if we proceed with this idea, it will be a challenge to get everything ready and produced in the erythrocyte (red blood cell) before it loses it's nucleus and thus also the ability to initiate de novo transcription. And to keep all this machinery silent in non-docked erythrocytes. I'm liking this challenge though :) - Jonas 12:09, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
