Microenvironment-responsive living hydrogel containing engineered probiotic for treatment of massive bone defects

Microenvironment-responsive living hydrogel containing engineered probiotic for treatment of massive bone defects

Self-activating and microenvironment-responsive biomaterials for tissue regeneration would address the escalating need for bone grafting, but remain challenging. The emergence of microbial living therapeutics offers vast potential in regenerative medicine, as genetically engineered probiotics posses...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Haoyu Fang, Yanyi Wang, Li Li, Xiaotong Qin, Daoyu Zhu, Pei Liu, Qianhao Yang, Youshui Gao, Zhongmin Shi, Xin Ma, Chao Zhong, Yixuan Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2025-08-01
Series:Bioactive Materials
Subjects:
Living hydrogel
Bacterial engineering
Smart biomaterial
Sensing-reporting
Regenerative medicine
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452199X25001665
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Self-activating and microenvironment-responsive biomaterials for tissue regeneration would address the escalating need for bone grafting, but remain challenging. The emergence of microbial living therapeutics offers vast potential in regenerative medicine, as genetically engineered probiotics possess efficient stimuli-responsiveness and tunable biological functions. Here, using elevated endogenous nitric oxide (NO) signals as a biological trigger in bone fracture injuries, a Living Responsive Regenerative Medicine (LRRM) strategy for in situ bone defect repair through real-time controlled release of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) is proposed. The Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) strain, genetically engineered to sense NO signals and correspondingly produce and secrete BMP2, was firstly encapsulated in gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) microspheres and then embedded in a bulky hyaluronic acid methacryloyl (HAMA) hydrogel to form a living hydrogel device that circumvents immune attack and prevents bacterial leakage. In vivo multiple bone defect models demonstrated the efficacy of the living hydrogel in enhancing the maturation of bone callus, promoting neovascularization, and facilitating full-thickness bone union. Strategic incorporation of engineered probiotics and the bilayer-structured encapsulation system may emerge as an effective and microenvironment-responsive medicine approach for tissue regeneration.
ISSN:2452-199X

Similar Items