Cellular Nanoparticle–Probiotic Biohybrid for Multimodal Oral Therapy of Food Allergy
Food allergies, driven by abnormal immune responses to dietary allergens, can cause severe and potentially life-threatening reactions. Current treatments remain limited by partial efficacy and prolonged regimens. Here, we present a biohybrid formulation composed of macrophage membrane-derived nanoparticles and <i>Escherichia coli</i> Nissle 1917 probiotics for targeted, multimodal oral therapy of food allergies. The nanoparticles are loaded with an allergen-degrading enzyme and conjugated onto probiotics via click chemistry. This design enables the biohybrid to neutralize pro-inflammatory cytokines, degrade allergens, and enhance intestinal targeting and retention. In vitro, the formulation demonstrated strong cytokine binding and effective allergen degradation. In mouse models of casein- and gluten-induced allergies, oral treatment with the biohybrid suppresses inflammatory cytokines, restores gut microbiota diversity, and alleviates symptoms such as weight loss, diarrhea, and elevated immunoglobulin <i>E</i> levels. Histological analysis shows preserved intestinal structure, and no systemic or gastrointestinal toxicity is observed, indicating good tolerability of the biohybrid system.
Authors
- Yiyan Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7136-654X)
- Dean Bai
- Weiwei Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3120-4466)
- Jiayuan Alex Zhang
- Zhidong Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2380-5885)
- Kailin Feng
- Lei Sun
- Wei-Ting Shen
- Liangfang Zhang
Institutions
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Family Healthcare (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Nano
- Published
- 2026-01-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c18828
- Primary Topic
- Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00