Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35332124›Full record

ArticleNature communications2022

Ultrasound-controllable engineered bacteria for cancer immunotherapy.

Mohamad H Abedi, Michael S Yao, David R Mittelstein, Avinoam Bar-Zion, Margaret B Swift, Audrey Lee-Gosselin, Pierina Barturen-Larrea, Marjorie T Buss, Mikhail G Shapiro

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 124 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
124citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

124 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. BiohybridMaterials today. Bio · 2026
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  17. Microbial medicines: Unlocking the therapeutic potential of the microbiome in cancer treatment.Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2026
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64 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Mohamad H Abedi *Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9717-6288
Michael S Yao *Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7008-6028
David R MittelsteinDivision of Engineering and Applied Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
Avinoam Bar-ZionDivision of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
Margaret B SwiftDivision of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
Audrey Lee-GosselinDivision of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
Pierina Barturen-LarreaDivision of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6076-5801
Marjorie T BussDivision of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4266-9197
Mikhail G ShapiroDivision of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA. mikhail@caltech.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0291-4215

Funding

Howard Hughes Medical Institute
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rapid advances in synthetic biology are driving the development of genetically engineered microbes as therapeutic agents for a multitude of human diseases, including cancer. The immunosuppressive microenvironment of solid tumors, in particular, creates a favorable niche for systemically administered bacteria to engraft and release therapeutic payloads. However, such payloads can be harmful if released outside the tumor in healthy tissues where the bacteria also engraft in smaller numbers. To address this limitation, we engineer therapeutic bacteria to be controlled by focused ultrasound, a form of energy that can be applied noninvasively to specific anatomical sites such as solid tumors. This control is provided by a temperature-actuated genetic state switch that produces lasting therapeutic output in response to briefly applied focused ultrasound hyperthermia. Using a combination of rational design and high-throughput screening we optimize the switching circuits of engineered cells and connect their activity to the release of immune checkpoint inhibitors. In a clinically relevant cancer model, ultrasound-activated therapeutic microbes successfully turn on in situ and induce a marked suppression of tumor growth. This technology provides a critical tool for the spatiotemporal targeting of potent bacterial therapeutics in a variety of biological and clinical scenarios.

Indexed as

ImmunotherapyNeoplasmsBacteriaGenetic EngineeringHumansSynthetic BiologyTumor Microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID35332124
PMCPMC8948203

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.