Application

  • Synthetic biology has the potential to revolutionize biotechnology, medicine, and environmental science.
  • Transgene expression involves the activation of a foreign or engineered gene within an organism, which is crucial for a range of biological applications. Transgenes are introduced into an organism’s genome through genetic engineering techniques like gene transfer or gene editing.
  • Transgene expression in engineered mammalian cells often diminishes over time or under cellular stress conditions, limiting applications that require sustained gene expression. Thus, promoters that provide robust and stress-resilient gene expression are useful for a range of applications, including:
    • Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Natural Killer cell therapies (CAR-NK), in which treatment efficacy is often compromised due to silencing of CAR expression, particularly under stress conditions that the cells face during production and treatment.
    • Gene therapies that require long-range herpetic transgene expression.
    • Industrial protein production

Our Innovation

We have developed a synthetic biology platform based on synthetic promoters that generate high levels of gene expression even under challenging stress conditions, such as repeated freeze/thaw cycles, starvation, or hypoxia.

Advantages

Native promoters are currently used in the industry, yet they have certain limitations such as context dependence, promoter silencing, and limited control. Our synthetic promoters overcome those limitations. Their main advantages are:

  • Short Promoters: Compact and efficient.
  • Very Potent Promoters: Enable strong gene expression.
  • Persistent Gene Expression: Maintain expression despite stress conditions.

Opportunity

Our project aims to advance synthetic biology by creating a new generation of synthetic promoters for persistent transgene expression. By leveraging our extensive background in developing practical solutions for the biotech and biomedicine industry, we aim to unlock novel applications and drive innovation in biotechnology and medicine. Our invention could significantly improve the efficacy of CAR-NK therapies and enable more reliable gene expression in biotechnology, such as in the production of recombinant proteins, antibodies, and cultivated meat.