Lactobacillus Engineered To Make, Deliver Microbicides In Situ

Genetically modified commensal bacteria offer an unusual means for producing and delivering antiviral microbicides near or along specific organs where they are needed, according to Peter P. Lee at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and his collaborators. They engineered Lactobacillus jensenii, a commensal species that inhabits the vaginal tract of healthy women, to express cyanovirin-N (CVN), a protein that can inhibit HIV. The idea is to use this novel microbicide-producing commensal to protect women, who account for half of new cases, against becoming infected with HIV.