Zach Negley, Gen Nieves, Andrew Murphy, Tejasvi Niranjan

Yang, et. al. demonstrated the utility of genetically modified Lactobacillus to decrease hypertension in a rat model of spontaneous hypertension. The bacteria express an 8 kDa ACE inhibitory peptide (ACEIP, plasmid expression) that can be readily taken up by gut mucosa. This peptide has been previously shown to inhibit ACE upon ingestion, but with limited effect due to digestion by the stomach. Lactobacillus has been shown to independently, natively reduce blood pressure. The combination of the two by this group demonstrated a reduction in hypertensive blood pressure by 15% (200 mmHg to 170 mm Hg systolic). This was sustained for 2-3 weeks. Additionally, statistically significant increases in vasodilatory NO and decreases in Endothelin and Angiotensin II were observed. Total serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and hematocrit were also significantly decreased. No adverse effects on general health status, body weight gain, bone marrow morphology, or spleen and liver wieght were observed, indicating that the re-engineered bacteria were well-tolerated. This probiotic system can potentially be used as a safe and cost-effective long-term treatment for hypertension in humans, with further study.

Yang, G, et. al. Effective treatment of hypertension by recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum expressing angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory peptide. Microbial Cell Factories. (2015) 14:202

https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12934-015-0394-2