Team:UCL/Project

From 2013.igem.org

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<p class="abstract_title">Circuit Overview</p>
<p class="abstract_title">Circuit Overview</p>
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Our genetic circuit aims primarily to remove amyloid plaques in the brain, which are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. To target amyloid protease expression to plaque sites, we developed a eukaryotic oxidative stress promoter.  
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Our genetic circuit aims primarily to remove amyloid plaques in the brain, which are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, prevent neuroinflammation and support neurons.
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<p class="abstract_title">Detection</p>
<p class="abstract_title">Detection</p>
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Senile plaques increase the rate of production of reactive oxygen species that are damaging to brain cells. We capitalise on this, by creating an oxidative stress promoter, in order to initiate the production of other circuit parts.
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Senile plaques increase the rate of production of reactive oxygen species that are damaging to brain cells. We developed an oxidative stress promoter, in order to initiate the production of other circuit parts.
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<p class="abstract_title">Degradation</p>
<p class="abstract_title">Degradation</p>
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We expressed and characterised MMP-9, a matrix metalloproteinase that is capable of degrading amyloid. By increasing its expression in de-activated microglia, we hope to be able to reduce amyloid burden in Alzheimer’s disease.
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We expressed and characterised a matrix metalloproteinase that is capable of degrading amyloid. By increasing its expression in de-activated microglia, we hope to reduce amyloid burden in Alzheimer’s disease.
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<p class="abstract_title">Selectable Marker</p>
<p class="abstract_title">Selectable Marker</p>
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We used resistance to zeocin, a cell killing glycoprotein, to act as a selectable marker for transformation/transfection in all our chassis, E.coli, HeLa and microglia.
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We used resistance to zeocin, a cell killing glycoprotein, to act as a selectable marker for transformation/transfection in our chassis; E.coli, HeLa and microglia.
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<p class="abstract_title">Chassis</p>
<p class="abstract_title">Chassis</p>
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We conducted our experiments in three chassis, creating recombinant plasmids in E.coli and expressing them in HeLa, and finally, the much harder to transfect primary and immortalised human microglia lines.
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We conducted our experiments in three chassis, creating recombinant plasmids in E.coli and expressing them in HeLa, and finally, the harder to transfect primary and immortalised human microglia lines.
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Revision as of 09:54, 4 September 2013

Genetic Engineering

Ethical Questions

This year, the UCL iGEM team is taking a radical new step with synthetic biology. We intend to explore the potential application genetic engineering techniques on the brain, because it is the site of some of the most subtle, and many of the most devastating diseases known to medicine. We have devised a genetic circuit for transfecting into a novel chassis for iGEM that is rarely engineered in research - microglial cells, the resident immune cells of the brain. The circuit aims to boost the ability of the microglial cells to break down senile plaques, which are associated with the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as to protect neurons under threat from these plaques and from inflammation. Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterised by the loss of recent memory and intellectual functions. Late stages of the disease often see patients bedridden, mute and incontinent. It is a horrific condition for which a genetic engineering response is both pertinent and somewhat disconcerting. Therefore, we also delve into the neuroethics of the potential progression of synthetic biology in neuroscience.

Click the abstracts below to read more.