LYSIN THERAPY: AN ALTERNATIVE TO ANTIBIOTICS

Image retrieved from Gutiérrez et al. (2018)

OVERVIEW:

During the lytic reproductive cycle of a bacteriophage, lysin enzymes are produced by the phage within the host cell and degrade the cell wall via either hydrolysis or glycosidic bond cleaving, lysing the cell from the inside.

PRESENT TECHNOLOGY:

Currently, lysins are produced in large quantities through recombinant DNA, while whole phages must be produced through the culturing of their host bacteria in liquid mediums.

LIMITATIONS:

Automated flow chemistry has recently been developed to rapidly produce proteins de novo, however it has not yet been applied to synthesize phage enzymes due to the unpredictable folding patterns of lysin loop regions between protein domains.

Home

Deep Learning