Can I genetically modify the flesh eating bacteria to attack only the fat?
“Flesh eating disease” or “flesh eating bacteria” is actually a misnomer; the bacteria do not eat your flesh at all. Rather, the bacteria secrete a toxin which non-specifically activates your body’s T-Cells. Your T-Cells go into overdrive, producing tons of cytokines, which in turn, activate your macrophages. Macrophages are cells that help kill off invading pathogens. Normally, this is good, but when they become overactive due to the toxin, they start bathing your own tissues in oxygen radicals, destroying your own tissues. So really, its not the bacteria that is flesh eating; it’s your own body that eats itself. Since the endotoxin that the bacteria secretes activates your T-Cells nonspecifically, all of your tissues are at risk. If you wanted to target only adipose tissue (fat cells), you would have to find a way to make your own T-Cells kill off the fat tissue and not the rest of the tissue. Purposely making your own body destroy your own tissue is never a good idea. Any genetic mo
