S. Korean scientists develop bacteria to diagnosis, suppress cancer growth

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- A group of South Korean scientists has genetically
engineered a common bacteria to simultaneously diagnosis and suppress cancer
growth, the government said Tuesday.

The group, led by Min Jung-joon, a professor at the medical college of Chonnam
National University, has modified the salmonella typhimurium bacteria that can
carry a substance to attack tumors, according to the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology.
"The salmonella typhimurium have been significantly weakened and artificially
designed to inject a cell-melting cytoysinA protein into tumors," the ministry
said in a press release.
Salmonella typhimurium bacteria is the leading cause of human gastroenteritis and
can bring about blood poisoning.
Detailed tests conducted on laboratory mice showed the bacteria successfully
suppressed colon cancer growth and prevented the disease from spreading to other
parts of the animal.
It also said that the bacteria have been developed to illuminate cancer growth on
contact, which allows doctors to observe the size of the tumors through molecular
imaging machines.
"In effect the bacteria is the world's first 'imageable therapeutic probe' that
not only helps diagnosis tumors but facilitates treatment," the ministry said. It
claimed that while similar techniques are being developed in the United States
and Europe, the South Korea bacteria is superior.
The research, funded by the government, has been published in the latest on-line
issue of U.S. journal Cancer Research.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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