Intracellularly\nGelated Macrophages Loaded with Probiotics\nfor Therapy of Colitis

Probiotics therapy has garnered significant attention\nin the treatment\nof inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, a large number of oral\nadministrated probiotics are inactivated after passing through the\ngastric acid environment, and their ability to colonize in the intestine\nis also weak. Herein, this study develops a novel probiotics formulation\n(GM-EcN) by incorporating <i>Escherichia coli Nissle 1917</i> (EcN) into intracellularly gelated macrophages (GM). Intracellular\nhydrogel is designed to load and prevent EcN from digestion in gastric\njuice, and GM acts as a macrophage-like carrier to carry the attached\nprobiotics to colonize in the inflammatory intestine. In addition,\nhydrogel serves as an ideal cytoskeletal structure to maintain the\nintact cell morphology and membrane structure of GM, comparable to\nsource macrophages. Due to the receptor–ligand interaction,\ninflammation-related membrane proteins enable GM as a cell sponge\nto sequestrate and neutralize multiple inflammatory cytokines. <i>In vivo</i> treatment demonstrates that GM-EcN efficiently alleviates\nIBD symptoms and enhances gut microbiota recovery.