Microencapsulated genetically engineered Lactobacillus plantarum 80 (pCBH1) for bile acid deconjugation and its implication in lowering cholesterol

A novel approach whereby one can use genetically engineered cells for the purpose of deconjugating bile acids and lowering cholesterol is presented in this thesis. The concept of oral administration of artificial cells has been used for this purpose. In concurrence to these requirements, several in-vitro methods are designed and discussed in this report. For these studies, alginate-polylysine-alginate microcapsules were used. Process parameters for Lactobacillus plantarum 80 (pCBH1) cell microencapsulation have been presented. Results show the possibility of using these artificial cells for various applications. For in-vitro experiments, immobilized bacteria and artificial cells containing the genetically engineered organism were challenged with physiologically relevant levels of bile acids. Results show that immobilized and microencapsulated genetically engineered bacterial cells are capable of lowering physiological levels of bile acids in-vitro. Further, this report summarizes the physiological interrelationship between bile acids and cholesterol and predicts oral doses of microencapsulated cells required for lowering cholesterol