Undergrad Competition Inspires Ulcer Vaccine

Nov. 11, 2008 -- A genetically engineered vaccine for the bacteria that causes stomach cancer and ulcers has won the Grand Prize at the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, or iGEM, in Cambridge, Mass.

Each year, teams from around the world, mainly undergraduates, spend six months designing, and then creating, bacteria and fungi with new properties for the competition. Entries have included everything from microbial fuel cells to yogurt-induced kidney dialysis.

Held this year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the fifth iGEM Jamboree had more than 85 registered teams.

"When we first started this, a lot of my colleagues thought that this was too tough for undergraduates, that this would discourage them from the field of biology," said Randy Rettberg, iGEM Director.

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The winning design this year was from Slovenia. The 13-member team used the tools of synthetic biology o create a prototype vaccine against stomach bug Helicobacter pylori, which can cause ulcers and, in rare cases, lead to cancer.

The Slovenian team created two vaccines that activate both parts of the human immune system. Tested in test tubes and in mice, the vaccines successfully activated immune system agents targeted against the harmful bacteria.

The team hopes to continue testing the vaccines, eventually in humans.

Other teams targeted different parts of the human digestive system. The host team from MIT tried to design yogurt that produces a peptide that stops Streptococcus metans, the bacteria responsible for some cavities, from sticking to teeth. Instead the injurious bacteria slip right off the teeth and down into the stomach.

The team from NYMU-Taipei, one of six finalists, designed another probiotic, designed to pull harmful waste usually removed by the kidneys from the blood stream, via the small intestine. Their yogurt mix would act as form of kidney dialysis.