Extracellular Vesicles from Nanomedicine-Trained Intestinal Microbiota Substitute for Fecal Microbiota Transplant in Treating Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

The biosafety concerns associated with fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) limit their clinical application in treating ulcerative colitis (UC). Gut microbiota secrete abundant extracellular vesicles (Gm-EVs), which play a critical role in bacteria-to-bacteria and bacteria-to-host communications. Herein, intestinal microbiota are trained using tea leaf lipid/pluronic F127-coated curcumin nanocrystals (CN@Lp₁₂₇s), which can maintain stability during transit through the gastrointestinal tract. Compared with FMT, Gm-EVs derived from healthy mice significantly improve treatment outcomes against UC by reducing colonic inflammatory responses, restoring colonic barrier function, and rebalancing intestinal microbiota. Strikingly, Gm-EVs obtained from CN@Lp₁₂₇-trained healthy mice exhibit a superior therapeutic effect on UC compared to groups receiving FMT from healthy mice, Gm-EVs from healthy mice, and FMT from CN@Lp₁₂₇-trained healthy mice. Oral administration of Gm-EVs from CN@Lp₁₂₇-trained healthy mice not only alleviates colonic inflammation, promotes mucosal repair, and regulates gut microbiota but also regulates purine metabolism to decrease the uric acid level, resulting in a robust improvement in the UC. This study demonstrates the UC therapeutic efficacy of Gm-EVs derived from nanomedicine-trained gut microbiota in regulating the immune microenvironment, microbiota, and purine metabolism of the colon. These EVs provide an alternative platform to replace FMT as a treatment for UC.