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<h3>Oxidative Stress Pathway in Depression</h3> | <h3>Oxidative Stress Pathway in Depression</h3> | ||
− | <p> | + | <p> Oxidative stress (OS) is defined as the intracellular biological imbalance between ROS (reactive oxygen species) and antioxidants, leading to the dysregulation of redox signaling pathways. Both neuronal OS and intestinal OS could lead to the occurrence of CSID. The following are physiological effects caused by excessive ROS<sup>[<a href="#ref3">3</a>]</sup>:</p> |
− | + | <ol> | |
− | + | <li>Excessive oxidative stress can induce neuronal inflammation, which often leads to abnormal brain function in patients with depression<sup>[<a href="#ref5">5</a>]</sup>.</li> | |
− | + | <li>Chronic intestinal inflammation is strongly related to increased ROS, composed of superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radical, which leads to depressive symptoms through the gut-brain axis.</li> | |
− | + | </ol> | |
− | </ | + | <p> To sum up, depression is highly correlated with inflammatory response and oxidative stress. However, current medication cannot effectively deal with CSID due to its difficult detection. Therefore, we try to utilize a novel synthetic biological approach to deal with this problem. After surfing previous research, we found that ROS and IFN-γ are two potential biomarkers of CSID. As for taurine, a kind of amino acid, it has both anti-inflammatory and ROS-scavenging effects. As a result, we use these agents to develop our project.</p> |
− | + | <h3>Taurine</h3> | |
− | + | <p> Taurine is a semi-essential amino acid appreciated for its role in neural development and neurogenesis as a neuroprotective agent. In chronically stress-induced depressive mice models, taurine dietary has increased the L-arginine concentrations in the hypothalamus with a significant decrease in the duration of immobility in forced swimming tests.<sup>[<a href="#ref6">6</a>]</sup></p> | |
− | + | <p> Moreover, studies have shown that taurine with its metabolites could significantly reduce the level of both reactive oxygen species such as HOCL and IFN-γ. Further mechanisms will be discussed in the <a href="https://2021.igem.org/Team:NCKU_Tainan/Model">Model part</a>.</p> | |
− | + | <p> These results strongly suggest taurine’s capability in reducing stress-induced depressive symptoms.</p> | |
− | <p> These results strongly suggest | + | |
</section> | </section> | ||
<hr> | <hr> | ||
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<h2 id ="Subtitle2">Approaches</h2> | <h2 id ="Subtitle2">Approaches</h2> | ||
<h3>Menble</h3> | <h3>Menble</h3> | ||
− | <p> | + | <p> Menbles are bubbles containing our engineered E. coli Nissle 1917 which aims to alleviate chronic stress-induced depression by producing taurine when it senses a high concentration of IFN-γ and oxidative stress. As an edible bubble, Menbles is designed to be an affordable and highly accessible product that can be easily incorporated into our daily lives. It was created to be an alternative solution for people who fear seeking medical help due to social stigma and/or low drug compliance<sup>[<a href="#ref9">9</a>,<a href="#ref10">10</a>]</sup>. |
− | , | + | The main ingredient of Menbles is sodium alginate, which is able to resist degradation in environments with low pH, such as in the stomach gastric acid<sup>[<a href="#ref11">11</a>,<a href="#ref12">12</a>]</sup>. In environments of higher pH such as in the small intestine (pH 7.4), Menbles are able to release our engineered bacteria into its surroundings and initiate the production of taurine</p> |
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Revision as of 13:36, 19 October 2021