CRISPR-Modified Human Bacteria for Skin Microbiome Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for enhancing skin health fail to effectively address the balance of the skin microbiome, particularly in aging individuals, leading to increased susceptibility to infections and diseases due to compromised immune systems and drug-resistant pathogens.
Innovation Solution
The use of human-specific bacteria modified via CRISPR-Cas or Cpf1 systems to alter their native pathogenicity, administered topically to promote beneficial microbial secretions and competitive inhibition of pathogenic bacteria, thereby enhancing the skin microbiome's health and balance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional skin health enhancement methods are used, then general skin care is provided, but the skin microbiome balance is not effectively addressed, leading to increased susceptibility to infections and diseases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces beneficial bacteria as intermediary organisms that mediate between the host skin and pathogenic microorganisms. These probiotic bacteria colonize the skin surface and produce antimicrobial substances, creating a protective barrier that indirectly protects the host from infections without directly targeting pathogens with conventional antimicrobial agents.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs the skin's own microbiome as a defense mechanism by introducing beneficial bacteria that naturally produce antimicrobial compounds. The host's skin microbiota serves its own protective function by outcompeting pathogenic organisms for resources and space, and by secreting bacteriocins and other antimicrobial substances that inhibit pathogen growth.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the skin microbiome is altered to promote beneficial bacteria, then competitive inhibition of pathogenic bacteria is achieved, but the complexity of maintaining microbiome balance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies key parameters of the skin microbiome environment by introducing probiotic bacteria that alter pH, produce antimicrobial substances, and change resource availability. These parameter changes create conditions favorable for beneficial bacteria while inhospitable to pathogenic organisms, achieving microbiome balance through environmental modification rather than direct control of each bacterial population.
3Reliability
If CRISPR-Cas or Cpf1 systems are used to modify bacteria, then native pathogenicity is altered and beneficial microbial secretions are promoted, but the manufacturing and application complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the pathogenicity factors from bacteria using CRISPR-Cas or Cpf1 gene editing systems. By targeting and disabling specific virulence genes while preserving beneficial metabolic pathways, the modified bacteria retain their probiotic functions (such as antimicrobial substance production) while losing their ability to cause harm, thus separating the harmful and beneficial properties of the original organisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Compositions, systems and methods of improving the health of the microbiome of an individual's skin relate to the provision of skin contacting formulations containing beneficial bacteria and other microbe components to foster the growth and maintenance of a healthy skin microbiome.