Can a bacterium be alive & metabolically-active w/out reproducing?

[Green Xenon]

Hi:

 

I would like to treat obesity in such a manner that allows patients to eat whatever they want and not perform any physical exercise -- and STILL lose all the unwanted body fat. This would involve the use of bio-engineered bacteria made from the smallest naturally-existing aerotolerant-anaerobic bacterium that has all the following qualities:

 

1. Not gram-negative

2. Free of lipopolysaccharide

3. Non-pathogenic

4. Does not produce or contain any exo- or endo-toxins

5. Is non-allergenic

6. Uses homolactic-acid-fermentation – not respiration – for energy. This form of fermentation does not generate CO2.

 

An obese patient is injected with medical bacteria that eats blood glucose and -- via homolactic fermentation -- converts this glucose to lactic acid w/out generating any CO2.

 

However, there are several rules to follow:

 

1. A sufficient amount of bacterial cells must be injected into the patient's bloodstream

2. The bacteria must be alive and metabolically-active but must NOT reproduce in the patient's body as this would eventually cause a dangerous increase in blood pressure and volume. Genetic-engineering can alter the bacteria so that they stop reproducing in response to serum-specific proteins. Or, these bacteria can be modified so that they don't reproducing unless exposed to light of a certain wavelength. This light can be used as a signal to tell these bacteria to reproduce. I'll have to brainstorm more on this.

3. The patient's immune system must not react to the presence of these bacteria

4. The bacteria must not enter any part of the patient's body excluding the bloodstream.

5. The bacterial cells must not have a limited life span when not subjected to lethal conditions

6. The rate at which the bacteria convert glucose to lactic acid should start of at a safely-low rate and then gradually increase in a safe manner to the fastest rate that the bacteria can perform this conversion. If this conversion is initially too fast, the body will go into shock from the extreme acidity. Over time, the body can increase its efficiency in which it de-acidifies the body -- this is done by the liver.

7. The bacteria must NOT feed on body proteins -- including those in the blood. Instead they should produce their own structural and functional proteins from amino acids in the bloodstream that are present from what the patient eats. Because the bacteria are not reproducing, they won't need the large amounts of protein that would cause the patient to be deficient in protein.

8. The bacteria must not form any colonies or biofilms in the body. There must be no adhesion to any surface of the blood vessels.

9. If this bacteria spread from the patient to another person, the other person's immune system must attack these bacteria. This means each obese patient must have their own therapeutic strain of bacteria for themselves. Prior to making a strain for each patient, the bacterium needs to be genetically-altered in such a way that his/her immune system doesn't attack but another person's immune system will attack at. This measure is necessary to prevent the contagious spread of this bacterium.

 

So, here is what I can visualize:

 

The patient in injected with syringes of liquid consisting only of the therapeutic bacteria and pure-H20. There are a sufficient amount of bacterial cells in the liquid to make the liquid as viscous as healthy human blood. The patient needs to receive sufficient injections of this fluid. Once this happens, the patient's serum has these bacteria flowing with the blood. The bacteria stay in the serum of the bloodstream only and do not leave the bloodstream, nor do they enter any of the blood cells. These bacteria start fermenting the glucose as soon as they are injected into the bloodstream and solely produce lactic acid as a by-product. However, the amount of glucose molecules fermented to lactic acid in initially insignificant. Gradually, however, the rate at which glucose molecules convert to lactic acid increases to the point where the patient's body will no longer have enough glucose for energy. Eventually, these bacteria increase their rate fermentation to the point where the patient couldn't eat enough glucose to provide any support for metabolism no matter how many sweets or desserts he/she feasts on. As this fermentation increases, the body will start to break down adipose fat for energy via lipolysis. This process will result in the production of ketones. Ketones can provide energy for the central nervous system which could otherwise only use glucose for energy. As the result the patient will ultimately lose all adipose fat -- both visceral and subcutaneous.

 

So here is my question:

 

Is it possible for a bacterial cell to be alive and metabolically-active – without reproducing – such that my futuristic anti-obesity treatment is effective for as long as the patient is alive?

 

 

Thanks,

 

GX

[insane_alien]

 

4. Does not produce or contain any exo- or endo-toxins

 

 

absolutely impossible.

[Green Xenon]

absolutely impossible.

 

What about the rest?

[Realitycheck]

no offense, but this sounds so absolutely backwards. How will you control the content levels? Your bloodstream isn't exactly the same type of environment as your intestines. How do these bacteria compare with these blood cells in terms of the diameter required to travel through capillaries? What guarantees that they don't get all mucked up in cholesterol-like plaques? What guarantees that they will flow freely through the blood? Sounds like a custom-made ticket to chronic malaise, at best.

 

Err, I didn't finish reading through all your restrictions, but it's starting to sound like quite the designer germ.

 

I hear that gastro-bypass or shortening is a pretty sure thing especially in conjunction with liposuction, and if it is a medical problem, they can't deny you treatment.

 

You should go to a teaching school and get discounted rates. It's not exactly rocket science.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Realitycheck

[Green Xenon]

Err, I didn't finish reading through all your restrictions, but it's starting to sound like quite the designer germ.

 

I hear that gastro-bypass or shortening is a pretty sure thing especially in conjunction with liposuction, and if it is a medical problem, they can't deny you treatment.

 

Ok, I change my mind. I now think of using that same designer bug [with some -- not all -- of the aforementioned characteristics possible] as a replacement for a gastric bypass. In no part of this treatment does the bacterium [or it's waste products] enter the bloodstream. This strain of bacteria is taken orally via a pill. It survives the acidity of the stomach. In the small intestine is where the action takes place. The small intestine contains villi which absorb digested nutrients into the bloodstream. The bacterial cells present in the strain form a one-cell-thick matrix around these villi and become part of the villis' cells. Once the formation of the matrix is complete, the bacteria stop reproducing but still remain metabolically-active.

 

These bacteria allow anything that would normally enter the villi to enter. However, there is an exception: Glycemic carbohydrates.

 

A glycemic carbohydrate is a carbohydrate that directly or indirectly raises blood sugar. Fibers maybe carbohydrates, however they are *not* 'glycemic' and hence will not be affected by these therapeutic bacteria.

 

The bacterial cells capture molecules of these glycemic carbohydrates. The bacteria then digest these carbs to glucose. These bacteria then use the glucose for energy to perform there activities. These bacteria use homolactic-acid-fermentation as the only source of energy -- as a result, they don't generate any CO2. The only waste product resulting from this fermentation is lactic acid. The bacteria then pump the lactate molecules out of their cells and into the small intestine to ensure than none of the lactate enters the bloodstream.

 

Once the aforementioned bacterial matrix is formed [on the villi], these bacteria begin consuming any glyemic carbs that the patient has ingested. Next, these bacteria crank their fermentation to a rate that is as fast as possible. This means the rate at which glucose is fermented to lactate will be as fast as allowed by the laws of science with limitations provided by the fact that the matrix is only one-cell-thick.

 

Due to lack of glucose in the bloodstream, the body will be forced to use fat for energy and patient will eventually lose all of his/her adipose tissues. The central nervous system will use ketones for energy, as a substitute for glucose.

Edited September 30, 2011 by Green Xenon