Synthetic cell therapy is a field that has broad potential for future applications in human disease treatment. Next generation therapies will consist of engineered bacterial strains capable of diagnosing disease, producing and delivering therapeutics, and controlling their numbers to meet containment and safety concerns. A thorough understanding of the microbial ecology of the human body and the interaction of the microbes with the immune system will benefit the choice of an appropriate chassis that engrafts stably and interacts productively with the resident community in specific body niches.
Keywords: bacterial therapeutic; biosafety; delivery; diagnosis; human microbiome; signal integration.