Bioengineered Probiotic‐Prebiotic Hierarchical Microspheres With pH‐Responsive Architecture Reprogram Immunometabolism in Obesity‐Related Disorders

Obesity is increasingly recognized as a chronic immunometabolic disorder driven by dysregulated gut-adipose communication and microbiota imbalance. Here, we present bioengineered pH-responsive probiotic-prebiotic hierarchical microspheres (MicroSym) that coordinate localized microbial restoration with systemic immune reprogramming to treat obesity-related disorders. MicroSym is fabricated via microfluidic-assisted phase separation coupled with electrostatic spraying, embedding probiotic bacteria within a lotus-derived prebiotic matrix to form a protective yet responsive microenvironment that preserves viability during gastric transit. At intestinal pH, the hierarchical architecture selectively disassembles to release probiotics and prebiotic substrates, fostering beneficial colonization and metabolite production. This symbiotic modulation reshapes the gut immune landscape, suppresses proinflammatory macrophage polarization, and restores adipose tissue homeostasis. In diet-induced obese mice, oral treatment with MicroSym remodels the gut microbiota, improves glucose tolerance, reduces lipid accumulation, and normalizes cytokine profiles without overt toxicity. Transcriptomic profiling and microbiome analyses further validate comprehensive systemic immunometabolic benefits. Collectively, this work establishes a biofabricated symbiotic microsphere platform for controlling microbiota-immune-metabolic crosstalk and offers a translatable therapeutic strategy for obesity-associated immunometabolic disease.

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Small
Published
2026-03-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202514910
Primary Topic
Gut microbiota and health
Type
article
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article

Bioengineered Probiotic‐Prebiotic Hierarchical Microspheres With pH‐Responsive Architecture Reprogram Immunometabolism in Obesity‐Related Disorders

xinghai ning, H. Chan, Jiaqi Chu, Ken Kin Lam Yung et al.
Small
Gut microbiota and health
article

Bioengineered Probiotic‐Prebiotic Hierarchical Microspheres With pH‐Responsive Architecture Reprogram Immunometabolism in Obesity‐Related Disorders

xinghai ning, H. Chan, Jiaqi Chu, Ken Kin Lam Yung, Kefan Hu, Yurui Xu, Xiaofan Xu, King‐ho Cheung, Weiwei Chen
article en

Abstract

Obesity is increasingly recognized as a chronic immunometabolic disorder driven by dysregulated gut-adipose communication and microbiota imbalance. Here, we present bioengineered pH-responsive probiotic-prebiotic hierarchical microspheres (MicroSym) that coordinate localized microbial restoration with systemic immune reprogramming to treat obesity-related disorders. MicroSym is fabricated via microfluidic-assisted phase separation coupled with electrostatic spraying, embedding probiotic bacteria within a lotus-derived prebiotic matrix to form a protective yet responsive microenvironment that preserves viability during gastric transit. At intestinal pH, the hierarchical architecture selectively disassembles to release probiotics and prebiotic substrates, fostering beneficial colonization and metabolite production. This symbiotic modulation reshapes the gut immune landscape, suppresses proinflammatory macrophage polarization, and restores adipose tissue homeostasis. In diet-induced obese mice, oral treatment with MicroSym remodels the gut microbiota, improves glucose tolerance, reduces lipid accumulation, and normalizes cytokine profiles without overt toxicity. Transcriptomic profiling and microbiome analyses further validate comprehensive systemic immunometabolic benefits. Collectively, this work establishes a biofabricated symbiotic microsphere platform for controlling microbiota-immune-metabolic crosstalk and offers a translatable therapeutic strategy for obesity-associated immunometabolic disease.

Small
Hong Kong Baptist University (HK), Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK), Education University of Hong Kong (HK), Regenerative Medicine Institute (MX), Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures (CN), Metropolitan University (BD), Wuhan Sports University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 20%
Gut microbiota and health
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