Obesity is a global public-health emergency: recent WHO reporting highlights that well over a billion people worldwide live with overweight or obesity, imposing enormous health and economic burdens. Current pharmaceutical options (e.g., semaglutide/Wegovy) show strong weight-loss efficacy but face widespread issues with long-term adherence, side effects, and cost, limiting accessibility for many populations.
Lacto-Bexo identifies and validates a probiotic-derived exosomal protein (hisF) that activates AMPK, the cell’s master metabolic regulator, producing substantial anti-adipogenic effects in vitro (exosomes ≈80% reduction in lipid accumulation; purified hisF up to ≈50% inhibition). Because hisF is derived from a probiotic species and can be produced cost-effectively as a purified protein or delivered through well-characterized formulations, our approach aims to be safer, lower-cost, and more scalable than lifelong injectable regimens, directly advancing SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being), and contributing to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 12 (Responsible Production), and SDG 17 (Partnerships). (Project experimental claims from our DBTL cycles; background: AMPK role in metabolism).
An overview of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. Source: https://www.un.org/
SDG 3 Good Health & Well-being: Primary target — prevention/treatment of obesity via a biologically targeted therapy that reduces adipogenesis and downstream comorbidities. (Direct experimental evidence: exosome & hisF assays.)
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure: New biological parts (BBa_25VSVXX5; BBa_25AUDPFC), computational tools (AlphaFold2/3 structural datasets), and reproducible DBTL cycles contribute novel technical infrastructure for future teams.
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities & SDG 1 — No Poverty: By designing a low-cost, protein-based strategy (manufacturable by standard recombinant expression), we aim to reduce economic barriers to therapy versus high-cost GLP-1 drugs. (Context: current list prices and payer barriers).
SDG 12 Responsible Production & Consumption: Emphasis on a biologically minimal, targeted effector (protein) rather than long-term systemic drugs that require continuous dosing and complex supply chains.
SDG 17 Partnerships: We documented collaborations, submitted parts to the Registry, and built computational pipelines so others can extend our work.
We explicitly evaluated Lacto-Bexo against SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being) as the primary target, and against SDGs 9, 10, 12 and 17 for downstream impact. Evaluation was performed in three linked steps: (1) Problem scale & priorities— we surveyed global morbidity and accessibility issues for obesity therapies (WHO/CDC data) and compared the clinical/financial limitations of current drugs (GLP-1 therapies) to the needs of underserved populations; (2) Technical feasibility & sustainability — we mapped how a probiotic-derived protein (hisF) could be produced, formulated, and delivered using standard microbial expression systems and stable formulation methods (reducing coldchain and per-dose cost); (3) Risk & equity analysis— we assessed which populations would most benefit from lower-cost, lower-risk alternatives and prioritized design choices (purified protein rather than deploying live GMO therapeutics as a first step) to minimize regulatory, ecological and ethical risks.
Evidence from our project: In vitro metrics demonstrate exosome-level inhibition of lipid accumulation (~80%) and purified hisF protein inhibition up to ~50% (dose dependent) — indicating real therapeutic potential whose distribution could impact public health (SDG 3). We modelled production pathways (strain expression, purification) to project cost and manufacturability as part of our SDG map.
We identified practical barriers (equipment cost, biosafety training, data literacy) and social barriers (trust, public perceptions around engineered microbes). To investigate these, we (a) ran an outreach & survey program targeted at clinicians, pharmacists, obese individuals (BMI ≥ 30), pharmaceutical industry workers, healthcare researchers, and fitness professionals (survey design & responses archived in our Wiki); (b) documented the lab protocols so others with lower resources can reproduce the protein purification route (purified hisF rather than live biotherapeutic deployment reduces the need for advanced containment); (c) produced educational materials (step-by-step DBTL writeups and troubleshooting notes) to lower technical entry costs.
Practical result: The shift to a purified-protein approach (validated by our DBTL cycles) intentionally reduces the need for teams to maintain complex containment facilities if they want to replicate the core assays, lowering a common barrier to participation.
We expanded access in three concrete ways: (1) New parts & documentation: submitted BBa_25VSVXX5 (hisF coding sequence) and BBa_25AUDPFC (pET28b+ IPTG-inducible hisF composite) to the iGEM Registry with full sequence, cloning notes and expression/purification protocols so other teams can reproduce protein production; (2) Dry-lab reproducibility: we published all AlphaFold2/3 structural models, predicted hisF–AMPK interaction datasets, and the computational pipeline so groups without wet-lab capacity can perform in silico follow-up; (3) Low-barrier experimental route: by demonstrating a robust purified-protein assay to measure anti-adipogenic activity in 3T3-L1 cells, we enable teams with basic cell-culture capacity to reproduce and extend the work.
Yes. We ran targeted interviews and surveys (doctors, pharmacists, fitness professionals, people with obesity, and pharmaceutical stakeholders). Key insights that changed our design included: (a) symptomatic treatments are often abandoned due to side effects — this motivated our emphasis on a biologically concordant mechanism (AMPK activation) and a purified protein route to limit systemic adverse events; (b) cost and simplicity are critical for uptake — we therefore prioritized production pipelines and delivery concepts aimed at lower per-dose cost; (c) patients expressed strong interest in therapies with fewer lifestyle disruptions and clearer reversibility — which drove our decision to pursue a protein formulation rather than a permanent microbiome edit as a first step. All interview summaries and anonymized transcripts are summarized on our Wiki and informed design decisions are made iteratively.
Yes. We have published: (1) full DBTL documentation for all four cycles (design rationale, experimental protocols, troubleshooting notes, raw data files for oil-red-O quantification), (2) BBa entries with sequences and cloning maps (BBa_25VSVXX5 and BBa_25AUDPFC), (3) computational notebooks for AlphaFold2/3 modeling and docking analyses, and (4) a reproducible purification SOP for hisF with yield & purity metrics. All of the above are linked and versioned on our Wiki and in our project repository so other teams can clone, adapt, and extend our work.
Yes. SDG stakeholder groups included clinicians (public-health lens), patient groups (end-user priorities), manufacturing experts (scalability), and policymakers/regulatory advisers (deployment pathways). Their feedback caused three tangible changes: (1) added emphasis on a non-live therapeutic (purified protein) to simplify regulation and adoption; (2) detailed a cost-and-manufacturing annex in our Wiki that models per-dose costs and production scale-up; (3) increased focus on equitable access: we defined low-cost production techniques and proposed partnerships for distribution in lower-resource settings. These stakeholder inputs were recorded in our Human Practices logs and reflected in design decisions documented on the Wiki.
Yes. We produced a formal impact assessment that addresses:
We performed an SDG interaction matrix analysis and have identified the following key interactions:
Yes. The Wiki includes a dedicated SDG page that: (a) maps each experimental and translational result to the relevant SDG target(s), (b) provides reproducible methods, data, and cost estimates so other teams can evaluate societal impact in their context, and (c) includes templates and checklists for replicating our SDG evaluation approach. All raw data files, BBa part entries, modeling notebooks, and stakeholder logs are cross-linked to the SDG page for easy reuse.
We provide measurable laboratory evidence of biological effect (exosomal inhibition ≈80% lipid accumulation; purified hisF up to ≈50% inhibition in dose-response assays). These are robust, quantitative results that establish a proofof-concept therapeutic mechanism aligned with SDG 3 (improved health outcomes). On the sustainability translation side, we provide measured outputs: two new iGEM Registry parts (BBa_25VSVXX5, BBa_25AUDPFC), complete computational datasets (AlphaFold predictions + docking models), and a documented DBTL workflow — metrics that other teams can reproduce and extend. Together, these measurable outputs show substantive progress toward the SDGs we selected.
We contributed two parts to the iGEM Registry (BBa_25VSVXX5 — hisF coding sequence; BBa_25AUDPFC — pET28b(+) IPTG-inducible hisF composite). Full cloning maps, sequence files, expression notes and purification SOPs are available on our Wiki so teams can reproduce the hisF expression and downstream assays.
We used AlphaFold2 for comparative hisF structure prediction and AlphaFold3 for predicted hisF–human AMPK interactions. All predicted models and the analysis pipeline (code + parameter files) are published so other teams can reproduce or extend the computational validation.
To minimize ecological and regulatory risks, our immediate translational approach centers on producing and testing purified hisF protein, not releasing engineered live organisms. We performed a preliminary risk assessment, outlined containment and manufacturing controls, and worked with clinical and regulatory stakeholders to align the design with acceptablesafety pathways.
[1] Ahmad, Bilal, et al. “Molecular Mechanisms of Adipogenesis: The Anti-adipogenic Role of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase.” Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, vol. 7, 2020, article 76. PMC, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7226927/. PubMed
[2] Kim, SukJin, et al. “Anti-adipogenic Effect of Lactobacillus fermentum MG4231 and MG4244 through AMPK Pathway in 3T3-L1 Preadipocytes.” Food Science and Biotechnology, vol. 29, no. 11, 2020, pp. 1541–1551. PMC, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7561660/. PubMed
[3] United States Food and Drug Administration. WEGOVY (semaglutide) Injection, for Subcutaneous Use: Highlights of Prescribing Information. 2023, https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2023/215256s007lbl.pdf. FDA Access Data
[4] “The 17 Goals | Sustainable Development.” United Nations Sustainable Development, United Nations, https://sdgs.un.org/goals
[5] “Wegovy® (semaglutide) Injection 2.4 mg: List Price & Insurance Coverage Explained.” NovoCare, Novo Nordisk, https://www.novocare.com/obesity/products/wegovy/let-us-help/explaining-list-price.html. Accessed 4 Oct. 2025. novocare.com
[6] World Health Organization. “Obesity and Overweight.” WHO, 7 May 2025, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight