Review Article | Open Access

Volume 2025 |Article ID 100039 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bidere.2025.100039

Recent advances of engineered probiotics for therapeutic applications

Lu Zhang,^1,2 Na Chen,^1,2 Haofeng Chen,¹ Chaoqun Tang,¹ Junyi Wang,¹ Yan Wang,¹ Yang Zhang,¹ Hao Guo,¹ and Jifeng Yuan ¹

¹School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Fujian, 361102, China
²These authors contributed equally to the work

Abstract

A great number of multifactorial diseases, including neoplastic, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases, have been associated with microbiota dysbiosis. Recently, there has been an increasing understanding of the importance of microbiome and their impact on human health. Advances in synthetic biology have led to the development of probiotics as diagnostic tools and disease treatment approaches. In this review, we briefly summarize recent examples of engineered probiotic-based therapeutics in human diseases, including cancers, gastrointestinal disorders, infectious diseases, and metabolic disorders. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in developing engineered probiotics for disease treatments.