Engineered bacteria as therapeutic agents

Although bacteria are generally regarded as the causative agents of infectious diseases, most bacteria inhabiting the human body are non-pathogenic and some of them can be turned, after proper engineering, into 'smart' living therapeutics of defined properties for the treatment of different illnesses. This review focuses on recent developments to engineer bacteria for the treatment of diverse human pathologies, including inflammatory bowel diseases, autoimmune disorders, cancer, metabolic diseases and obesity, as well as to combat bacterial and viral infections. We discuss significant advances provided by synthetic biology to fully reprogram bacteria as human therapeutics, including novel measures for strict biocontainment.