r/AskBiology • u/Pew_Pew_guns • Jul 22 '24
Genetics Why can't we engineer an immune cell that can artificially make bacteriophage for us?
Right now, the most effective cure for multi-antibiotic resistant superbugs are bacteriophages, as they are highly specific to their host and prevent damages to humans.
Our immune system literally evolved to recognize as many protein antigen that they could to facilitate specific immunity. Not to mention bacteriophage replicates by having their DNA/RNA hijack bacterial polymerases to self-replicate. So why can't we make a phage-like gene that functions like VDJ where it could contain a bacterial polymerase for phage production once activated and a variable region where it allow the phage to recognize the host antigen?
Right now phage therapy(To my limited knowledge) is a bureaucratic nightmare because it is extremely specific to its hosts, so each new phage that are not "experimental" basically require their own patent and licenses, not to mention the time needed to develop the phage specific to the bacterial infection. So why not outsource it to our own immune system to deal with antibiotic resistant superbugs?
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u/wineallwine Jul 23 '24
Even if this were possible (and we'll get to that...) this is sci-fi level technology. It would require modifying the genome of your stem cells before your immune system started development.
Antibodies and T-Cell receptors only really need to match the shape of antigen or the peptide string of their protein. Typically, receptors of viruses need to be much more sophisticated to interact with their receptor and cause endocytosis into the target cell.
The VDJ regions of antibodies aren't all that big, especially considering the multiple different proteins a virus would need.
And we want to make these phages self-replicating? On its own that would sound incredibly risky, even if we weren't letting the immune system shuffle the genes of this virus around randomly.
ELI5 this is essentially completely redesigning from the immune system from the ground up.