Could Probiotics Improve GLP-1 Treatment? This Living Drug Responds to Blood Sugar
Researchers engineered a probiotic to sense glucose spikes and release GLP-1 on demand. It worked in diabetic mice and monkeys, but human trials remain ahead.
What if probiotics could help GLP-1 drugs work more effectively? A new study out of the Shanghai Academy of Natural Sciences within East China Normal University tested a new “living” drug, made from modified probiotic bacteria, on mice and monkeys. The treatment, called GIFT, has a molecular glucose sensor that reacts when spikes in blood sugar are detected and then produces GLP-1 to trigger natural insulin release.
“We thought there was an opportunity to develop a treatment that behaves more like the body itself that can respond to changes in glucose rather than simply delivering a fixed amount of medicine,” Ningzi Guan, one of the lead researchers behind the new probiotic, said on the Nature Podcast.
Existing GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic can help encourage
Existing GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic can help encourage the production of insulin and regulate blood sugar levels, but as Guan explained on the podcast that the fixed schedule medication dosage can lead to a “mismatch between a treatment that is relatively fixed and a biological system that is highly dynamic.”
How GIFT Works
The current study evaluated the new living drug, GIFT, on diabetic mice then diabetic monkeys, which are some of the closest non-human test subjects for new medication evaluation.
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GIFT works by having a switch within the modified probiotic that can sense rises in glucose levels in the intestine. When this switch is flipped in the probiotic, it sends out GLP-1 hormone which tells the body to produce insulin. When blood sugar levels return to normal, the switch flips off and the probiotic stops sending out GLP-1. If there is no rise in glucose levels after taking GIFT, it does not react.
After mice were treated with GIFT for 30
After mice were treated with GIFT for 30 days, they lost a significant amount of fat and reduced weight gain the treatment also lowered triglycerides and cholesterol, showed protective effects on the liver and kidneys, and improved metabolism
Monkeys taking GIFT were found to have stabilized blood sugar levels for up to three days after taking one oral dose. The scientists behind GIFT coated the probiotic with tannic acid and poloxamer 188, which can prolong its lifespan in the stomach for extended release.
The researchers behind GIFT hope self-regulating medications like their probiotic will be the future of diabetic care. However, moving into human trials of the living drug may prove lengthy with safety trials, stability testing and regulatory approval of the GMO drug waiting down the line.
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