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Nanocoated probiotics by expressing PET hydrolase to efficiently regulate gut dysbiosis induced by nanoplastics
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Researchers engineered a gut bacterium to produce an enzyme that breaks down PET nanoparticles. In lab-grown human intestinal cells and in mice with colon inflammation induced by nanoplastics, cells and mice given the engineered strain took up less nanoPET, and the mice had less gut inflammation and a gut bacteria mix closer to that of unexposed mice.
Nanoplastics represent emerging environmental contaminants that pose significant threats to human health. Current research on nanoplastics predominantly focuses on their environmental impact and ex situ degradation. A critical paradigm shift is needed toward developing strategies for their in vivo elimination and therapy. Addressing this gap, a living therapeutic agent based on Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) is engineered in this study for charge-enhanced adsorption and remediation of polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics (nanoPET) in the gastrointestinal tract. This engineered probiotic, EcNp@PDA-PEI, is designed to express PET hydrolase for direct nanoPET biodegradation and coated by polydopamine-polyethyleneimine (PDA-PEI) for prolonging gut retention. The EcNp@PDA-PEI effectively reduces nanoPET uptake by Caco-2 cells, thereby alleviating cellular inflammation and gut barrier disruption. In a murine model of nanoPET-induced colitis, the EcNp@PDA-PEI robustly restores gut barrier integrity, mitigates inflammation, and recalibrates the dysregulated gut microbiota. This work presents a proof-of-concept demonstration of repurposing a PET-degradation system from environmental remediation toward preliminary biomedical exploration, providing a foundational basis for further investigations into nanoplastics-associated health risks
More Papers Like This
Engineered Probiotics Mitigate Gut Barrier Dysfunction Induced by Nanoplastics
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Researchers engineered the probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 to produce an anti-inflammatory protein, TGF-beta, and gave it a coating to survive the digestive tract. In cell tests it reduced inflammation caused by PET nanoplastics. In animals infected with Salmonella alongside nano PET, it outperformed commercial antibiotics.
Perturbation of gut microbiota plays an important role in micro/nanoplastics-induced gut barrier dysfunction
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Researchers investigated how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt gut barrier function in mice, finding that different surface chemistries caused varying levels of damage. The study suggests that these plastic particles harm the gut by altering the gut microbiome, which then leads to inflammation and weakening of the intestinal barrier that normally keeps harmful substances out of the body.
Exposure to PET micro- and nanoplastics induces size-dependent interactions and microbial biotransformation in a human gut model
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Researchers tested plastic particles of different sizes (from PET, a common plastic) using lab-grown gut bacteria from human stool samples. Smaller particles changed bacterial populations and their byproducts more than larger ones, and gut bacteria appeared to partially break down the smallest plastic particles into other chemical compounds.
The microplastic-crisis: Role of bacteria in fighting microplastic-effects in the digestive system
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This review describes how micro- and nanoplastics may affect the digestive tract, including the gut microbiota, digestive enzymes and the mucus layer. The authors compared probiotic genomes with known plastic degraders and found no probiotic able to degrade plastic. They discuss probiotics instead for effects on microbial diversity, the gut barrier and inflammation.
Micro-nanoplastics inhibit extracellular polymeric substance and lactate synthesis via perturbing glucose metabolism of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus
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Researchers found that micro- and nanoplastics — especially nanoscale PET particles — impair the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus by disrupting central carbon metabolism, reducing its production of lactic acid and protective extracellular polysaccharides, raising concerns that microplastic ingestion could compromise the gut benefits of probiotic bacteria.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.