Synthetic Biology and Personalized Medicine

Jain, K.K.

Transgene control systems and networks can be used for gene therapy to treat single-gene defects by triggering inducible expression of complementary transgenes. They can also be used for genetic modification of bacteria to enable them to search and destroy cancer cells. Tailored synthetic gene networks can be uploaded into cells to therapeutically target the body's endogenous networks, causing a transition from disease to healthy state [17] . Synthetic mammalian circuits may be able to function as cell implants that could be programmed to sense diseaseassociated metabolites and produce an appropriately adjusted therapeutic response. Transgenic cell implants containing prosthetic networks would be more effective than transplants of genetically modified cells in preventing or reversing disease development in a self-sufficient manner without repetition of treatment. A synthetic multi-enzyme glyoxylate shunt has been used to protect mice on a high-fat diet from diet-induced obesity. This shunt prevents the complete oxidation of fatty acids in plants and bacteria, but when introduced in mice, it increases fatty acid oxidation [18] .