Designer Probiotics: The Next-Gen High Efficiency Biotherapeutics

Recombinant Probiotic Preparations: Current State, Development and Application Prospects

The article is devoted to the latest achievements in the field of research, development, and implementation of various types of medicinal products based on recombinant probiotics. The benefits of probiotics, their modern use in medicine along with the most frequently used genera and species of probiotic microorganisms were highlighted. The medicinal and therapeutic activities of the studied probiotics were indicated. The review suggests various methods of creating recombinant probiotic microorganisms, including standard genetic engineering methods, as well as systems biology approaches and new methods of using the CRISPR-Cas system. The range of potential therapeutic applications of drugs based on recombinant probiotics was proposed. Special attention was paid to modern research on the creation of new, more effective recombinant probiotics that can be used for various therapeutic purposes. Considering the vast diversity of therapeutic applications of recombinant probiotics and ambiguous functions, their use for the potential treatment of various common human diseases (non-infectious and infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, metabolic disorders, and allergic conditions) was investigated. The prospects for creating different types of vaccines based on recombinant probiotics together with the prospects for their implementation into medicine were considered. The possibilities of using recombinant probiotics in veterinary medicine, particularly for the prevention of domestic animal diseases, were reviewed. The prospects for the implementation of recombinant probiotics as vaccines and diagnostic tools for testing certain diseases as well as modeling the work of the human digestive system were highlighted. The risks of creation, application, including the issues related to the regulatory sphere regarding the use of new recombinant microorganisms, which can potentially enter the environment and cause unforeseen circumstances, were outlined.

Antimicrobial Peptides from Human Microbiome Against Multidrug Efflux Pump of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a Computational Study

The excess use of antibiotics has led to the evolution of multidrug-resistant pathogenic strains causing worldwide havoc. These multidrug-resistant strains require potent inhibitors. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a lead cause of nosocomial infections and also feature in the critical priority list of the world health organization (WHO) for the development of new antibiotics against their antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) found in almost every life form from microorganisms to humans are known to defend their hosts against various pathogens. Owing to the diversity of the human microbiome, in this study, we have identified the cell-penetrating AMPs from the human microbiome and studied their inhibitory activity against the outer membrane protein OprM of the MexAB-OprM, a constitutively expressed multidrug efflux pump of the Ps. aeruginosa. Screening of the AMPs from the human microbiome resulted in the identification of 147 cell-penetrating AMPs (CPAMPs). The virtual screening of these CPAMPs against the OprM protein showed significant inhibitory results with the top docked AMP showing binding affinity exceeding -30 kcal/mol. The molecular dynamic simulation determined the interaction stabilities between the AMPs and the OprM at the binding site. Further, the residue interaction networks (RINs) are analyses to identify the inhibitory patterns. Later, these patterns were confirmed by MM-PBSA analysis suggesting that the AMPs are majorly stabilized by electrostatic interactions at the binding site. Thus, the high binding affinity and insights from the molecular interaction signify that the identified CPAMPs from the human microbiome can be further explored as inhibitory agents against multidrug-resistant Ps. aeruginosa.

Probiotic microorganisms and herbs in ruminant nutrition as natural modulators of health and production efficiency – a review

Probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, direct-fed microbials, and herbs may improve the production efficiency in ruminants. The beneficial effect of selected specific microbes on animal health is reflected in protection against pathogens, stimulation of immunological response, increased production capacity, and mitigation of stress effects. Phytobiotic plants used in the nutrition of ruminant animals increase feed palatability. This in turn has a positive effect on feed intake and, consequently, increases production performance. Pectins, terpenes, phenols, saponins, and antibioticlike substances contained in phytobiotics prevent irritation, diarrhea, and increase the activity of digestive enzymes. Thanks to the abundance of biologically active substances such as flavonoids, glycosides, coumarins, carotenoids, polyphenols, etc., phytobiotics exhibit immunostimulatory and antioxidant properties as well. Given such a wide range of effects on health status and production parameters in animals, an attempt was made in this review to compile the current knowledge on the possible application of these natural growth stimulants in ruminant nutrition and to demonstrate their potential benefits and/or risks for breeding these animals.

Recent systems biology approaches for probiotics use in health aspects: a review

The market of probiotics is growing dynamically for the food and supplements, which provides better health to an individual. Probiotics are used as dietary management for diseases, but it varies between regions and persons. Systems biology can help in resolving the strain specificity of probiotics by studying their genome level organization. In this review, we have compiled facets of systems biology and next-generation omics methods such as metagenomics, proteomics and metabolomics. These tools are crucial for the optimization of the metabolic processes in probiotics and hence, their use for human health. The limitations and challenges associated with the development of probiotics involve their stability and function in different individuals. Systems biology facilitates emerging metabolic engineering approaches to improve probiotics strain for their broader application. This review provides comprehensive and updated knowledge of engineered probiotics as therapeutics and various challenges in the development of engineered probiotics.