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Ameba-inspired strategy enhances probiotic efficacy via prebound nutrient supply
Chao Pan1,2, Xiuxian Jiang1,2, Junchao Wei1,3
1State Key Laboratory of Drug Research & Center of Pharmaceutics, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, PR China.
Nature Communications
|February 20, 2025
Summary
An ameba-inspired food-carrying strategy (AIFS) enhances oral probiotic delivery by using ginger-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (GELNs) as food depots. This approach significantly boosts probiotic proliferation and efficacy in treating colitis.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biotechnology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Oral probiotic efficacy is often limited by nutrient competition from indigenous gut microbes and pathogens.
- Developing strategies to enhance probiotic survival and proliferation in the competitive gut environment is crucial for effective microbiotherapy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an ameba-inspired food-carrying strategy (AIFS) to improve oral probiotic delivery and efficacy.
- To investigate the impact of AIFS on probiotic uptake, proliferation, resistance to stressors, and therapeutic effects in a colitis model.
Main Methods:
- Engineered probiotics by prebinding ginger-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (GELNs) onto them, creating a food depot system (AIFS).
- Assessed probiotic uptake efficiency, proliferation rates, and resistance to gastrointestinal stressors in vitro.
- Evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of AIFS in a murine model of colitis, analyzing probiotic abundance, pathogen inhibition, intestinal flora homeostasis, and inflammatory markers.
Main Results:
- AIFS demonstrated up to 21 times higher probiotic uptake efficiency compared to unengineered probiotics.
- AIFS significantly accelerated probiotic proliferation and enhanced resistance to gastrointestinal stressors.
- In colitis models, AIFS improved probiotic abundance, inhibited pathogens, restored gut flora homeostasis, upregulated IL-10, reduced IL-1β, and repaired intestinal mucus.
Conclusions:
- The ameba-inspired food-carrying strategy (AIFS) effectively enhances oral probiotic delivery and function by providing a dedicated nutrient source (GELNs).
- AIFS shows significant potential for improving probiotic-based therapies, particularly for inflammatory conditions like colitis, by promoting beneficial microbial populations and reducing inflammation.
- This study presents a novel microbial engineering approach with broad implications for the advancement of microbiotherapy and gut health management.
