A therapeutic glue that autonomously targets gut bleeding in inflammatory bowel disease

a-therapeutic-glue-that-autonomously-targets-gut-bleeding-in-inflammatory-bowel-disease
A therapeutic glue that autonomously targets gut bleeding in inflammatory bowel disease
  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

Nature Biotechnology (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

We engineered bacteria to function as therapeutic ‘living glues’ that autonomously detect gastrointestinal bleeding and, in response, secrete adhesive and therapeutic proteins to enable targeted mucosal adhesion, promote healing and reduce inflammation in mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$32.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

$259.00 per year

only $21.58 per issue

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Targeted and durable IBD treatment using ‘living glue’.

References

  1. An, B. et al. Engineered living materials for sustainability. Chem. Rev. 123, 2349–2419 (2023). This review article highlights key developments and emerging strategies in the field of engineered living materials.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Mimee, M. et al. An ingestible bacterial-electronic system to monitor gastrointestinal health. Science 360, 915–918 (2018). This paper reports a blood-inducible genetic circuit for monitoring gastrointestinal health.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Wan, X. et al. Cascaded amplifying circuits enable ultrasensitive cellular sensors for toxic metals. Nat. Chem. Biol. 15, 540–548 (2019). This paper presents a cascaded amplifier strategy applicable to diverse biosensor systems, ensuring robust and tunable signal amplification.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhong, C. et al. Strong underwater adhesives made by self-assembling multi-protein nanofibres. Nat. Nanotechnol. 9, 858–866 (2014). This study reports a robust protein adhesive system engineered by fusing the E. coli amyloid protein CsgA with mussel foot protein (Mfp), resulting in exceptional cohesive and adhesive performance.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. An, B. et al. Programming living glue systems to perform autonomous mechanical repairs. Matter 3, 2080–2092 (2020). This paper describes engineered living glue materials capable of sensing environmental cues and executing functions in an on-demand manner.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Ge, C. et al. Engineered living glues secrete therapeutic proteins for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Nat. Biotechnol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02970-9 (2026).

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

A therapeutic glue that autonomously targets gut bleeding in inflammatory bowel disease. Nat Biotechnol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02976-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-025-02976-3