Probiotics are commonly employed in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) to regulate the intestinal micro-environment. However, the outcome of such therapy is often deemed unsatisfactory due to its metabolic instability and limited targeting ability.

Recently, a novel probiotic therapy that can alleviate intestinal inflammation and microbiota dysbiosis in IBD has been reported by a cross-disciplinary research team from Zhejiang University, which provides a potential new treatment approach for enterohepatic circulation in patients with severe and chronic liver diseases.

The research was led by Prof. MAO Zhengwei, vice dean of Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University, Prof. WANG Weilin, surgeon and SAHZU President, and Prof. CHEN Xiaoyuan from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and College of Design and Engineering of National University of Singapore. It was published in Nature Nanotechnology (IF: 40.523) entitled Artificial Enzymes-Armed Probiotics Robustly Alleviate Intestinal Inflammation and Microbiota Dysbiosis (click to view the article).

In the study, single-atom nanozymes (Fe SA) with exceptional reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability were synthesized and bonded to the surface of Bifidobacterium longum probiotics using boronic acid–poly (ethylene glycol) (C18–PEG-B).

The artificial-enzyme-modified Bifidobacterium longum probiotics (BL@B-SA₅₀) was then constructed and its performance evaluated in animal models. In subsequent experiments, BL@B-SA₅₀ exhibited outstanding ROS-scavenging ability in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. When tested in the treatment of ulcerative colitis, BL@B-SA₅₀ experimental group showed increased bacterial diversity and community composition that resembled a healthy gut microbiome, presenting significantly better results than nanoparticle and probiotic treatment alone. These findings demonstrate the potent regulation function of the intestinal micro-environment by BL@B-SA₅₀.

Prof. WANG Weilin, the correspondent author of the article, also HPB surgeon and President of SAHZU, expresses his belief that BL@B-SA₅₀ holds immense potential for the treatment of liver diseases:

"Some of the probiotics in the intestine can help improve the metabolism of the liver. Any abnormalities in the intestinal flora can lead to not only intestinal diseases, but also affect other organs, with the liver being the first to be affected. We often talk about cirrhosis and alcoholic liver disease are related to gut dysbiosis. Therefore, it would be highly beneficial for patients if this research could be translated into clinical application someday."

Prof. WANG is confident in the translation of this research finding. Prof. WANG and his team will start to evaluate this novel composite of probiotics and artificial enzymes in real clinical settings and promote its translational development.