PROVIDENCE, R.I., January 24, (UPI) — Brown University scientists have developed a novel delivery system for anti-HIV drugs: milk-curdling bacteria used to make yogurt and cheese.
"We've found that you can engineer these bugs to secrete drugs — in this case, a viricide that disables (human immunodeficiency virus)," said Dr. Bharat Ramratnam, assistant professor of medicine and attending physician at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. "The hope is to use the bacteria as the basis for a microbicide which can prevent sexual transmission of HIV."
Ramratnam was already familiar with lactic acid bacteria, or LAB, which help make fermented foods such as yogurt and cheese. LAB are also known for their ability to accept foreign DNA and then produce specific proteins.
The hope is to use the bioengineered bacteria as the active ingredient in a microbicide to prevent HIV transmission.
Ramratnam also plans to genetically modify LAB to produce proteins that disable salmonella, shigella, cholera and other pathogens.
The research is detailed in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
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