Revolutionizing disease treatment through bioengineered probiotics and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) based strategies: A path towards effective cures

Human intestinal gut microbiota harbors complex and diverse microbes that play an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of the intestinal microenvironment in humans. The rise in mortality and morbidity rates among humans because of the increased incidence of food-borne pathogens and the habits of individuals to eat junk food poses greater concerns and needs to be addressed. Bioengineering of probiotics has enabled the researchers to advance their research by developing probiotics with more functionalities. Moreover, GLP-1 peptides which are incretin hormones have been shown to be more effective when combined with engineered probiotics. Various studies have shown its effectiveness in diabetic mice where human-modified GLP-1 produced long-lasting benefits and research is going on to study its role in other diseases. The role of designer probiotics in treating and preventing diseases have been of much interest in recent times. However, the role of GLP-1 peptides in treating diseases and their efficacy in combination with next-gen biotherapeutics have received little attention. Thus, this review enlightens about the baseline knowledge as well as knowledge gaps related to conventional and genetically engineered probiotics. It also discusses the effect of GLP-1 peptides in combination with bioengineered probiotics to prevent and treat diseases.