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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">U</span></b><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">ROP Supervisor: Jean-Francois Hamel, PhD (</span></b><a href="mailto:jhamel@mit.edu"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">jhamel@mit.edu</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">)</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Term: Fall 2014</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">8/26/14</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center; line-height:200%">
<b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Use of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacterium for Skin Therapy</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Project Overview</span></u></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Background
</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> Over the past decade, there has been a spike of interest in the human microbiome, which is the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic
microorganisms that literally share our body space [1]. The importance of the human skin microbiome in skin health and a robust immune system has become a topic of increased interest. An important group of microorganisms, now virtually absent from the skin
of most humans, are ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB), bacteria ubiquitous in soils and untreated water [2]. AOB feed on the ammonia in sweat and convert it into nitrite and nitric oxide.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in; line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Nitric oxide (NO) is a signaling mediator with many diverse biological activities. In the last few years, the importance of steady state NO concentrations
has emerged as a key determinant of its biological function [3]. Precise cellular responses are differentially regulated by specific NO concentration. Studies have correlated links between NO concentration and the regulation of synaptic transmission, blood
pressure, vascular tone, immune cell function, and inflammation, all of which are pertinent to human health [2, 4].
</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Introduction</span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">
</span></b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Modern hygiene has selectively depleted the natural balance of the skin microbiome particularly altering AOB. By restoring the appropriate AOB levels, scientists are working to impact a range of human
health conditions. <i>Nitrosomonas eutropha</i>, a common AOB, is currently being used by scientists to develop innovative bacterial therapies to explore the potential physiological beneficial effects of improving skin architecture, preventing infection, and
improving vascularization [5].</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> Scientists have developed an innocuous solution containing
<i>N. eutropha</i> as a bacterial therapy skin care product. Early research supports that this low-concentration AOB treatment has positive effects on some hygiene factors such as odor and skin texture. Scientists are now looking test more concentrated forms
of AOB for the treatment of diabetic ulcers and other dermatologic conditions, and to scale up the production of the solution in order for the product to eventually reach the market.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> The project would greatly benefit to produce cell at high concentrations. However it is currently not possible to do so, and we have hypothesized that there
is a metabolic bottleneck.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Responsibilities of the UROP student</span></u></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> The student will cultivate
<i>N. eutropha</i> bacterium in a state-of-the-art laboratory bioreactor, and measure cell growth and metabolic parameters. One specific feature of the bioreactor is that it is operated in the continuous mode. Prior knowledge of biological pathways and biochemistry
would be helpful to engage into the elucidation of the limited growth problem and to propose solutions.
</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><b><u><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">References</span></u></b><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></b></p>
<p class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in; line-height:150%">
<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">1.<span style="font-size:7pt; line-height:normal">
</span></span><a href="http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v131/n10/full/jid2011168a.html"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v131/n10/full/jid2011168a.html</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in; line-height:150%">
<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">2.<span style="font-size:7pt; line-height:normal">
</span></span><a href="http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/677/chp%253A10.1007%252F978-3-7643-8903-1_6.pdf?auth66=1403117403_98198d022fd2eea2d5bf0d19f684db0f&ext=.pdf"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/677/chp%253A10.1007%252F978-3-7643-8903-1_6.pdf?auth66=1403117403_98198d022fd2eea2d5bf0d19f684db0f&ext=.pdf</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in; line-height:150%">
<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">3.<span style="font-size:7pt; line-height:normal">
</span></span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2572721/"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2572721/</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">
</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in; line-height:150%">
<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">4.<span style="font-size:7pt; line-height:normal">
</span></span><a href="http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/7/829.long"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/33/7/829.long</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p>
<p class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in; line-height:150%">
<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">5.<span style="font-size:7pt; line-height:normal">
</span></span><a href="https://www.aobiome.com/science"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">https://www.aobiome.com/science</span></a><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p>
<div><span class="x_Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse:separate; border-spacing:0px">
<div>Joyce Roberge<br>
Undergraduate Program<br>
Biology Education Office 68-120<br>
Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
31 Ames Street<br>
Cambridge, MA 02139<br>
617-253-4718<br>
fax: 617-258-9329<br>
email: <a href="mailto:roberge@mit.edu">roberge@mit.edu</a></div>
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