Researchers at East China Normal University in Shanghai have created a bacterium that produces a drug based on a signal from the body. In the present experimental system, E. coli Nissle 1917 became both a sensor and a producer of glucose-lowering hormone. Animal experiments are described in Nature on August 12, 2026. The drug receives a chemical signal about the state of the body after administration and adapts its work. Control of the synthesis of glucagon-like peptide-1, GLP-1, was built inside the bacterium. This hormone helps reduce sugar. A high concentration of glucose causes production, and a decrease in the concentration of glucose stops production. This feedback allows you to adjust the amount of the substance between subsequent doses of the drug. Bacteria live temporarily in the intestines, from where they provide this regulation. A single oral administration of a gift reduced sugar in monkeys with type 2 diabetes for up to 3 days. A long-term experiment in 5 animals lasted 5 weeks: the drug was administered once every 3 days, from day 0 to day 33. It makes 12 shots. The researchers replenished the stock of living cells, and within the entire gap the cells controlled the release of the hormone. The future patient may continue to take it regularly even when the amount of the drug produced due to sugar fluctuations. The safety and sustainability of this treatment in humans remains to be determined through clinical trials. Shandong University used Nissl 1917 as a producer of romidepsin directly in the tumor. The work was published in PLOS Biology on March 17. The modified bacteria were injected intravenously into mice, after which mammary tumors were colonized. One of the options tested suppressed tumor growth better than direct drug administration, while others gave a similar effect with less toxicity. The mice had reduced heart damage and drug-related mortality. Transferring the production to the tumor allowed the use of a known molecule with less damage to healthy tissue.

Researchers at East China Normal University in Shanghai have created a bacterium that produces a drug based on a signal from the body. In the present experimental system, E. coli Nissle 1917 became both a sensor and a producer of glucose-lowering hormone. Animal experiments are described in Nature on August 12, 2026. The drug receives a chemical signal about the state of the body after administration and adapts its work. Control of the synthesis of glucagon-like peptide-1, GLP-1, was built inside the bacterium. This hormone helps reduce sugar. A high concentration of glucose causes production, and a decrease in the concentration of glucose stops production. This feedback allows you to adjust the amount of the substance between subsequent doses of the drug. Bacteria live temporarily in the intestines, from where they provide this regulation. A single oral administration of a gift reduced sugar in monkeys with type 2 diabetes for up to 3 days. A long-term experiment in 5 animals lasted 5 weeks: the drug was administered once every 3 days, from day 0 to day 33. It makes 12 shots. The researchers replenished the stock of living cells, and within the entire gap the cells controlled the release of the hormone. The future patient may continue to take it regularly even when the amount of the drug produced due to sugar fluctuations. The safety and sustainability of this treatment in humans remains to be determined through clinical trials. Shandong University used Nissl 1917 as a producer of romidepsin directly in the tumor. The work was published in PLOS Biology on March 17. The modified bacteria were injected intravenously into mice, after which mammary tumors were colonized. One of the options tested suppressed tumor growth better than direct drug administration, while others gave a similar effect with less toxicity. The mice had reduced heart damage and drug-related mortality. Transferring the production to the tumor allowed the use of a known molecule with less damage to healthy tissue.