Living microbes as drug carriers for therapeutic molecules have shown great potential in maintaining host health and treating diseases. Based on the research foundation on the biosynthesis and activity of glycosaminoglycans, Prof. Wang Fengshan's team successfully modified microbial surface with “capsule coating” to enhance the stability and function in vivo of the probiotic chassis. This research lays down a solid platform for programming therapeutic microbial agents with high bioavailability and superior therapeutic effects.

Relevant research entitled “Enhanced Stability and Function of Probiotic Streptococcus thermophilus with Self-Encapsulation by Increasing the Biosynthesis of Hyaluronan” has been published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. In this research, the engineered probiotic S. thermophilus with endogenous hyaluronan coating was successfully constructed by using synthetic biological tools (Traceless Gene Operation System and CRISPR Interference System). The “capsule coating” formed by endogenous hyaluronan could not only effectively protect probiotics but also further enrich the functions of probiotics to optimize their performance in vivo. The engineered microbial agents coated with endogenous HA or other functional shell materials are anticipated to have broad applications in microbial living therapeutics for human health.

Prof. Wang Fengshan and Prof. Sheng Juzheng from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and National Glycoengineering Research Center of Shandong University are corresponding authors. PhD student Ma Dongxu from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Shandong University is the first author. Shandong University is the first institute of this paper. This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, the Projects of Science and Technology Department of Shandong Province and other projects. Prof. Wang's team has been devoted to investigating the biosynthesis, chemicobiology and drug discovery of glycosaminoglycan for a long period. Recently, multiple achievements have been made in the biosynthesis and degradation of glycosaminoglycan and the anti-Alzheimer activity and mechanism of low molecular chondroitin sulfate and haparan sulfate.

Link to this paper:https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsami.2c11591