Microbiota Extracellular Vesicles as a Postbiotic Strategy: Recent Findings and Perspectives

Dr. Laura Baldomà from Universitat de Barcelona, Spain will join the Second World Congress on Targeting EVs and present a talk entitled "Microbiota Extracellular Vesicles as a Postbiotic Strategy: Recent Findings and Perspectives".

Abstract

The intestine plays a crucial role in maintaining human health and well-being. Central to this function is the gut microbiota, which actively contributes to essential physiological processes within the host. Clinical studies have provided insights into the influence of the gut microbiome on immunity and a broad spectrum of diseases. Communication between the gut microbiota and the host is primarily mediated by secreted factors, with extracellular membrane vesicles (EVs) playing a significant role. Scientific evidence indicates that EVs mediate microbiota functions by delivering bioactive molecules into host cells, thereby modulating cellular processes. Furthermore, microbiota-derived EVs can migrate through the intestinal epithelium, cross biological barriers, enter the bloodstream, and reach distal tissues, exerting systemic effects.

The high plasticity of the human microbiome provides the basis for new therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring an altered gut microbiota balance or reversing the adverse effects of dysbiosis during disease. The administration of probiotics is one such intervention. However, due to limitations in the efficacy and safety of probiotic-based therapies, the focus is gradually shifting from viable probiotic bacteria to postbiotics.

Postbiotics represent a novel health-promoting strategy based on bioactive compounds produced by probiotics or beneficial gut bacteria. They offer several advantages over live probiotics. Notably, postbiotics pose no risk of bacterial translocation, provide improved accessibility of bacterial molecules for interaction with host-specific receptors, and exhibit specific mechanisms of action that elicit targeted responses.

Microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) meet the criteria and exhibit the benefits to be considered postbiotics. Further research in this field is essential not only to deepen our understanding of the complex microbiota–host communication network but also to lay a solid foundation for the development of novel therapeutic strategies that harness EVs from beneficial gut bacteria as postbiotic agents.

Studies from our group have demonstrated that EVs derived from probiotic and beneficial Escherichia coli strains exert immunomodulatory and barrier-strengthening effects in various epithelial and immune cell models. Furthermore, preclinical studies in rodent models of inflammatory bowel disease and rotavirus infection have shown that oral administration of these EVs alleviates diarrhea, clinical symptoms, and inflammation. In healthy neonatal rats, treatment with EVs from beneficial E. coli strains promotes intestinal maturation and immunity, while also modulating liver function toward an anti-inflammatory and lipid-lowering profile.

About Laura Baldomà

Laura Baldomà is a Full Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Physiology at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona. She leads the Intestinal Microbiota Research Group, which is affiliated with both the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD). She is also a member of the Consolidated Research Group (SGR) in Integrative Biochemistry.

Her scientific career has been dedicated to the study of metabolic regulation in enterobacteria, with a particular emphasis on enzyme function and transcriptional regulation mechanisms. Since 2010, her research has focused on the intestinal microbiota, especially on bacterial secreted factors such as extracellular membrane vesicles. Her work has significantly advanced the understanding of these vesicles as key mediators in microbiota–host communication and their role in maintaining intestinal homeostasis.

Professor Baldomà has supervised 18 doctoral theses and authored over 110 peer-reviewed articles in international journals spanning the fields of Microbiology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medicinal Chemistry, and Nutrition. She has also participated in more than 40 nationally and internationally funded research projects, serving as principal investigator or collaborator.

Targeting EVs Congress
October 15-16, 2025 - Valencia, Spain
www.targeting-exosomes.com