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Toilet time=Pain time
EVERY·SINGLE·DAY
Not dying but lowkey ruining my whole vibe 🫠
Lol u just sit too much bro🤣
Haha u can't even
sit straight??💺👉🩸
Don't talk abt
that🤢
Bruh… sneezed and
my butt's on fire😭
Hemorrhoids, as a chronic disease that inflicts both physical and psychological distress on humans worldwide, has a high prevalence of 51.14% and 40.27% among adult urban and rural residents in China. Respectively, accounting for 87.25% of all anal-intestinal diseases. Hemorrhoids cause recurrent pain and severely impair human quality of life; if the condition continues to worsen, it may lead to life-difficulities.
Many patients overlook symptoms or av oid consultation due to embarrassment, and conventional treatments offer only temporary relief.
Surgery brings relief, but recovery is long and painful.
Each movement, each day, reminds patients of the wound.
Healing takes time — and sometimes, it never feels complete.
Doctors often recommend dietary management to prevent relapse.
Yet in daily life, such advice is easy to forget.
Without proper habits, the pain often returns.
Our team is developing a better treatment for hemorrhoids. We have observed that the development of hemorrhoids is closely associated with hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. Therefore, we are utilizing engineered bacteria that produce a series of anti-angiogenic proteins as a new treatment for hemorrhoids. Additionally, inspired by the concept of “medicinal adjuvants” in traditional Chinese medicine, our project not only focuses on the medication itself but also integrates food with medication, enabling patients to cultivate healthy and nutritious dietary habits and establish a sophisticated synergy between medicine and diet.
Our engineered bacteria utilize OMVs as carrier modules to transport anti-angiogenic modules and locally secrete engineered bee venom peptides, thereby preventing the progression of hemorrhoids and providing treatment, while alleviating the pain caused by inflammation associated with hemorrhoids. Additionally, we employ a riboswitch responsive to specific metabolites from certain food components to prevent bacterial leakage and serve as an interface for food-drug collaboration.
Anti-angiogenesis Module
HemorrEaser employs a dual-targeting strategy to suppress pathological angiogenesis: an OMV-delivered bioPROTAC mediates hypoxia-specific degradation of HIF-1α, while an anti-VEGF probody (activated by MMP3 at the hemorrhoid site) locally blocks VEGF signaling. This combined intracellular and extracellular targeting enhances precision and safety.
Anti-inflammatory Module
Under ROS induction, engineered melittin is secreted to alleviate inflammation. Leveraging EcN’s natural tropism toward inflamed tissue, the peptide acts locally to reduce hemorrhoidal swelling and pain.
Suicide and Medicine-Food Collaboration Module
A riboswitch-based circuit triggers bacterial self-elimination in the absence of a dietary ligand, ensuring biocontainment. An "Expiry-date" subcircuit delays lysis to prolong therapeutic activity, while a simplified riboswitch enables quick clearance in topical applications.
OMV Delivery Module
OMVs decorated with OmpA-CAR are used for targeted delivery of bioPROTAC to hemorrhoidal neovessels, minimizing off-target effects and improving treatment specificity.