Difference between revisions of "Team:Fudan/Description"

(after vgj)
m (fix)
 
Line 210: Line 210:
 
     <div class="col m2 l3 hide-on-small-only">&nbsp;</div>
 
     <div class="col m2 l3 hide-on-small-only">&nbsp;</div>
 
     <div class="col s12 m8 l6">
 
     <div class="col s12 m8 l6">
       <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/a/a4/T--Fudan--title_design.svg" alt="design" style="width:100%">
+
       <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/8/8e/T--Fudan--title_description.svg" alt="description" style="width:100%">
 
       </div>
 
       </div>
 
   </div>
 
   </div>
Line 221: Line 221:
 
               html代码不在乎多个空格,仅显示一个
 
               html代码不在乎多个空格,仅显示一个
 
         -->
 
         -->
   <h1 tabIndex="1">Using intestinal probiotics to promote calcium absorption</h1>
+
   <h1 tabIndex="1">Make calcium supplements sustainable</h1>
  <div class="highlight decoration_background">
+
    <p>CaAP is a Calcium Absorption Peptide we designed, containing a series of short peptides that can promote calcium absorption. We let probiotics express and secrete this peptide in the intestine to promote calcium absorption. By introducing luxI/luxR quorum sensing system, bacteria can first gain population advantage by expressing antimicrobial peptides, thereby colonizing and forming flora in the intestine. When the number of bacteria reaches a certain level, the antimicrobial peptide secretion system will be turned off and the secretion of CaAPs will be turned on. In this case, the antimicrobial peptides will not be secreted out but will inhibit itself so that the number of flora can be maintained in a stable range. Meanwhile, CaAPs will be continuously expressed and secreted, combined with calcium ions in the intestine, and promote the absorption of calcium ions by epithelial cells. </p></div>
+
  
  <div class="clear extra_space"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 如果觉得内容间差异大再加上extra_space -->
 
 
  <h2>Inspiration form Social Background and Literature Research</h2>
 
<div class="column full_size">
 
<p>Calcium is a mineral necessary for the body to maintain healthy bones. Bone loss can lead to metabolic bone diseases, such as osteoporosis. This situation often occurs in the elderly population, especially in China. The calcium intake of the Chinese elderly commonly cannot meet the Nutrition Society's recommended standards, because vegetables account for a large proportion of the traditional diet. More severely, vegetables are rich in oxalate that cause calcium precipitation and impede calcium from absorbing. </p>
 
 
<p>So, we hope to develop a stable and sustainable endogenous drug delivery method that can assist calcium absorption, therefore truly improve the quality of life and health of human beings, especially for the elderly, promoting the progress of SDG Goal3: Good health and well-being.</p>
 
 
<p>Recently, people have attracted great interest in enhancing calcium solubility and subsequent calcium absorption by food substances (especially peptides). Combining calcium with peptides to prevent calcium precipitation can effectively increase calcium absorption in the body. So far, Calcium-binding peptides have been found and selected in various food sources, including egg yolks, cow cheese protein, soybeans, wheat germ, and so on.  One of the most widely known is the casein phosphopeptides (CPPs) in milk. CPPs can promote calcium absorption by chelating calcium with phosphoserine residues, so protein kinases are required. However, given that protein kinases play an essential role in signal transduction, and they may not be able to fold and function correctly in the chassis, it is challenging to phosphorylate peptides in bacteria. Therefore, we choose short peptides without phosphoserine residues to promote calcium absorption. </p></div>
 
 
<div class="clear extra_space"></div>
 
 
<h2>Calcium Absorption Peptide (CaAP)</h2>
 
 
   <div class="column full_size">
 
   <div class="column full_size">
<p> CaAP consists of several peptides that can enhance intestinal calcium absorption by binding calcium to their Asp and Glu residues. Through literature review, we selected five short peptides GPAGPHGPVG, FDHIVY, YQEPVIAPKL<sup>[1]</sup>, NDEELNK<sup>[2]</sup> and DHTKE<sup>[3]</sup>, to assemble our CaAP. We are doing experiments to show that our CaAP performs better than these peptides individually.</p>
 
  </div>
 
  
  <div class="clear"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 -->
+
     <p>In Asia, many old people suffer from insufficient calcium intake and related diseases such as osteoporosis. Considering that traditional calcium supplementation is not efficient and user-friendly enough, we intended to develop a kind of engineered bacteria based on <i>E. coli</i> that can colonize in the human intestine and secrete peptides to promote calcium absorption. We introduced the quorum sensing system to colonize bacteria in the intestine. Once the bacteria have successfully colonized the intestinal tract, the luxPR promoter will be activated and a series of short peptides that can bind to calcium and promote calcium absorption of intestinal epithelial cells will be expressed. A kill switch is added accordingly for safety. Our project provides a novel delivery method to provide calcium supplements sustainably. And we are actively seeking commercialization possibilities to expand our project impact, to reach more population, for the elderly’s good health and well-being.</p>
 
+
  <h4> GPAGPHGPVG, FDHIVY, and YQEPVIAPKL</h4>
+
  <div class="column half_size">
+
     <p>According to Wanwen Liao <i>et al.</i> (2020), GPAGPHGPVG, FDHIVY, and YQEPVIAPKL are derived from tilapia collagen hydrolysate. In terms of safety, the MTT test showed that among the three short peptides, YQEPVIAPKL at six tested concentrations had no cytotoxicity. In the concentration range of 25 to 500μg/mL, neither GPAGPHGPVG nor FDHIVY affects cell viability.</p>
+
<p>In Wanwen Liao <i>et al.</i> (2020), they use the o-cresol-catechol colorimetric method to verify their calcium chelating activity. The calcium chelating activity of GPAGPHGPVG, FDHIVY, and YQEPVIAPKL respectively reached 18.80±0.49, 35.73±0.74, 28.4±0.94 mg/g, indicating that the FDFDY peptide with the shortest sequence has more calcium chelating sites. For these peptides, the composition and the peptide sequence may play an essential role in the calcium chelating activity. Except for the binding site of casein phosphopeptide (CPP) “Ser(p)-Ser(p)-Ser(p)-Glu-Glu,” the most likely calcium-binding sites are Asp(D) and Glu(E )carboxyl. Besides, due to the δ-N of the imidazole ring of His(H) and the ε-amino nitrogen of Lys(K), necessary amino acids such as His(H) and Lys(K) have a significant contribution to the calcium-binding activity of the peptide.</p>
+
<p>Their results<sup>[1]</sup> further showed that compared with adding calcium and phosphorus, adding GPAGPHGPVG, FDHIVY, and YQEPVIAPKL respectively increased calcium transport by 89±9, 202±12, and 130±7%. As the transport time increases, the difference in calcium transport induced by each peptide becomes more evident. FDHIVY has the most significant effect on calcium transport, followed by YQEPVIAPKL and then GPAGPHGPVG. This result is consistent with their calcium chelating activity. Previous findings indicate that peptide chelating activity is necessary to promote calcium absorption in the Caco-2 cell monolayer.</p>
+
<p>Calcium absorption peptides with high biological activity are believed to affect calcium absorption by interacting with membranes and opening specific calcium channels. The most suitable peptide structure can bind calcium for transport and release ions quickly. calcium may be absorbed after being released from the peptide, or it may be absorbed in the form of calcium peptide chelate.</p>
+
  </div>
+
  <div class="column half_size">
+
  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/archive/5/5e/20201027220036%21T--Fudan--img_design_1.svg" alt="img design 1" />
+
  </div>
+
  <div class="clear"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 -->
+
 
+
  <h4>  NDEELNK</h4>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
  <p>Asn-Asp-Glu-Glu-Leu-Asn-Lys (NDEELNK) is derived from the trypsin hydrolysate of sea cucumber eggs<sup>[2]</sup>. This peptide can spontaneously bind calcium at a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1, and the calcium-binding site may involve the carboxyl oxygen and amino nitrogen atoms of two glutamic acids and one aspartic acid residues in the NDEELNK peptide. Besides, it is reported in the literature that the DEELNK-calcium complex undergoes decomposition and self-aggregation in a smaller-sized grid during the digestive process of the gastrointestinal tract, which may help to absorb calcium across the Caco-2 cell monolayer.</p>
+
  </div>
+
 
+
<div class="row">
+
  <div class="col s2 m3 l3"> </div>
+
  <div class="col s8 m6 l6">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/archive/9/92/20201027220923%21T--Fudan--img_design_2.svg" alt="img design 2" />
+
</div>
+
 
</div>
 
</div>
 +
  <div class="clear"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 如果觉得内容间差异大再加上extra_space -->
  
   <div class="clear"></div>
+
   <h2>Inspiration</h2>
 
+
  <h4>  DHTKE</h4>
+
 
   <div class="column full_size">
 
   <div class="column full_size">
  <p>Asp-His-Thr-Lys-Glu (DHTKE) pentapeptide comes from the hydrolysis of egg white<sup>[3]</sup>. This peptide can spontaneously bind calcium at a stoichiometric ratio of 1:1, and the calcium-binding site corresponds to the carboxyl oxygen, amino nitrogen, and imidazole nitrogen atoms of the DHTKE peptide. Besides, Caco-2 cells were used in vitro to study the DHTKE-calcium complex's effect on improving calcium absorption. Compared with the control without calcium, the results show that the DHTKE-calcium complex can promote the penetration of calcium into the cytoplasm and further increase the Caco-2 cell monolayer's calcium absorption by more than seven times.</p></div>
+
  <p>Our member Tian Shizheng heard from her grandmother that she suffered from leg pain caused by calcium deficiency when she went home during the holiday, and the effect of taking calcium tablets was not good, so she had to go to the hospital to seek more professional treatment advice. This thing reminds him of insufficient calcium intake,even in the era of rising quality of life when food choices are plentiful.</p>
  
<div class="row">
+
<p>In January, before the COVID-19 outbreak, one of our members, Xinran Li's grandmother, lost her footing and fell slightly to the ground while playing badminton. As the elderly played badminton together, their speed and movements were not severe, but they still broke their bones because they fell on the ground with their hands. It is not the first time. A few years ago, her grandmother had broken her lower back in a fall while active. It reminds her of many similar cases among other relatives in the past few years, especially among women. As a result of a severe fracture caused by a fall, she needs to take care of her family members, especially middle-aged people. If the family has some school-age children in need of care, the elderly cannot continue to help. </p > <p>It makes us realize the importance of bone health in the elderly, and osteoporosis is a significant cause of fractures in the elderly. In 2018, the National Health Commission of China released an epidemiological survey of osteoporosis in China, which is the first large-scale multi-center epidemiological survey of osteoporosis among Chinese residents based on community population in China. The results show that osteoporosis has become a significant health problem for people over 50 in China, especially middle-aged and older women. The prevalence rate of osteoporosis reached 32.0% in people over 65 years old, 10.7% in men, and 51.6% in women. Due to the state of low bone mass and the lack of apparent clinical manifestations in the early stage of osteoporosis, the lack of public awareness of the importance of osteoporosis prevention, and the insufficient ability of primary medical and health institutions to prevent osteoporosis, the bone mineral density detection rate of Chinese residents is low.</p>
  <div class="col s2 m3 l2"></div>
+
  <div class="col s8 m6 l8">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/archive/3/35/20201027220253%21T--Fudan--img_design_3.svg" alt="img design 3" style="width:100%">
+
    </div>
+
</div>
+
  
 
+
<p id="Project">At present, there are good medical treatments for osteoporosis, but there is still a big gap in preventing calcium deficiency in the elderly. The existing calcium supplement products still have disadvantages such as low absorption rate, poor user experience, and easy to miss taking. So we want to add a new and convenient daily calcium supplement for the elderly to achieve sustainable calcium supplementation and improve the quality of life and health of the elderly. That's where our project came from.</p >
 
+
  <div class="column full_size"><div class="highlight decoration_background decoration_B_full">
+
  <p>These five peptides are connected by FR linkers to form our Calcium Absorption Peptide (CaAP) that it can be cleaved by digestive tract proteases.</p>
+
  </div></div>
+
 
+
  <div class="clear extra_space"></div>
+
 
+
  <h2>Signal peptide</h2>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
  <p>To enable CaAP to be secreted into the intestinal environment, we plan to add a signal peptide to the N segment of CAAP to guide the extracellular environment's secretion. Our candidates are NSP4, OmpA, DsbA, PelB, PhoA. We hope to obtain a suitable signal peptide through comparison so that CaAP can be efficiently secreted into the periplasm.</p>
+
<p>The entire designed gene fusion fragment length is about 500 bp, and the gene loop is organized as follows.</p></div>
+
 
+
<div class="row">
+
  <div class="col s2 m3 l3"></div>
+
  <div class="col s8 m6 l6">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/d/d6/T--Fudan--img_caap.svg" alt="img caap" style="width:100%">
+
    </div>
+
</div>
+
 
+
 
+
<div class="column third_size"></div>
+
  <div class="clear extra_space"></div>
+
 
+
  <h2>Quorum sensing and antimicrobial peptide expressing system</h2>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
  <p>Based on previous work, We decided to use luxI/luxR and TetR to construct a quorum sensor system with the antimicrobial peptide microcin B17 (MccB17) expression system to achieve the "on" and "off" effects of controlling the growth of engineered bacteria (schematic diagram).</p>
+
 
+
<p>MccB17 is a short peptide microcin produced by an endogenous plasmid found in <i>Escherichia coli </i>. It acts on DNA topoisomerase and gyrase, preventing bacterial from DNA replication and transcription and promoting double-strand breaks. McbABCDEFG jointly completes the expression, processing, and secretion of MccB17. </p><p>Among them, McbA is precursor of MccB17, and McbBCD is responsible for the post-translational modification of McbA to produce MccB17. McbEF expresses the channel protein to secrete MccB17. McbG is accountable for the immunity against MccB17.</p>
+
<p>TldD/TldE is a metalloprotease that is ubiquitous in bacteria. When the surrounding bacteria absorb MccB17, TldD/TldE will activate MccB17 and result in the death of the bacteria.</p>
+
<div class="row">
+
  <div class="col s2 m3 l3"></div>
+
  <div class="col s8 m6 l6">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/3/38/T--Fudan--img_mcbabcdefg.svg" alt="img mcbABCDEFG" style="width:100%">
+
    </div>
+
</div>
+
<p>In our antimicrobial peptide expressing system, <i>mcbABCD</i> is under the control of a constitutive promoter, and PtetR regulates the expression of <i>mcbEFG</i>. When the number of engineered bacteria in the intestine is low, few heterdimers are formed by the expression products of <i>luxI</i> and <i>luxR</i> genes, which cannot effectively activate the luxPR promoter. Thus, luxPR driven TetR and CaAP expression are both silent. But, McbEFG is expressed and MccB17 is produced, which inhibit the growth of surrounding bacteria.
+
</p><p>When the number of bacteria reaches a threshold, the heterdimers formed by AHL (product of <i>luxI</i>) and LuxR will accumulate and effectively activate luxPR. At this time, tetR is produced, which bind to PtetR promoter and turn off its downstream genes. As a result, <i>mcbEFG</i> stops expressing, and CaAP begins to be produced. Since the population number has reached a certain level, the engineered bacteria can express CaAP more efficiently. Meanwhile, MccB17 is still continuously expressed but cannot be effectively effluxed, which will cause the toxins to gradually accumulate in the engineered bacteria and prevent them from continuously proliferation.</p></div>
+
 
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
  <div class="highlight decoration_background decoration_B_full">
+
<p>To achieve better expression efficiency, we have made substaintial improvement over <a href="https://2019.igem.org/Team:Fudan" target="_blank">19Fudan</a>'s design. We rearranged the gene structure and regulation system and took a unique idea to express mcbEFG from the reverse strand.</p>
+
  </div>
+
 
   </div>
 
   </div>
  
 
+
   <div class="clear"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 -->
  <div class="column half_size">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/9/90/T--Fudan--img_qs1.svg" alt="img qs1" />
+
  </div>
+
  <div class="column half_size">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/d/d3/T--Fudan--img_qs2.svg" alt="img qs2" />
+
  </div>
+
   <div class="clear"></div>
+
 
+
<h4>Improving the system from 19Fudan</h4>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
    <p>The quorum sensing system described above was originally proposed last year by <a href="https://2019.igem.org/Team:Fudan" target="_blank">19Fudan</a>. Since MccB17 plays a vital role in the entire quorum sensing system, the better the MccB17 is expressed (optimal ammount), the faster the engineered bacteria will switch from quorum sensing to CaAP production. However, we found that the expression of MccB17 tested by Team Fudan 2019 last year was so low that the engineered bacteria cannot be competitive enough even in a test tube.</p>
+
 
+
<p>To solve the problem, we have proposed some improvements. We thought about using the high-copy plasmids to express MccB17, but they are more difficult to sensitively regulate and respond, and will greatly increase the expression burden of engineered bacteria.
+
</p><p>
+
By researching the literature and talking with <a href="/Team:Fudan/Human_Practices#profLin">Professor Lin</a>, who is an expert in prokaryotic expression at the Fudan University, we decided to use low-copy plasmids to reduce the expression burden to the engineered bacteria. We tried to keep the expression of MccB17 (McbA processed by McbBCD) relatively low and highly express the immune part (McbEFG).
+
</p><p>
+
In our design, the highly expressed channel proteins (McbE,F) will export more MccB17 and reduce the risk of accumulating antimicrobial peptides in the engineered bacteria cells, thereby inducing them to produce more antimicrobial peptides.
+
</p><p>
+
Lin recommended a series of promoters (P1 to P14 for short) from an addgene collection which contains combinations of specific constitutive bacterial promoters that vary in strength to us, for driving the expression of <i>mcbABCD</i> to achieve better performance of the system.</p>
+
<p>For more information, please check <a href="/Team:Fudan/Results">/Team:Fudan/Results</a>.
+
  </div>
+
<div class="clear extra_space"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 -->
+
 
+
  <h2>Kill Switch</h2>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
<p>In order to ensure our engineered probiotic will not jeopardize the environment, we integrated a cold triggered toxin/antitoxin Kill Switch to deprive of the survivability of engineered Nissle in the environment when excreted from the human intestine. After carefully considering, we selected the toxin/antitoxin system from killer systems and RNA thermometer from the response systems.</p>
+
 
+
<p>The toxin/antitoxin system is a mature and robust system that is extensively applied both inside and outside of the iGEM competition. We first chose RelE/RelB system of type II TA systems, but replace it with MazF/MazE system later. Please read our note added to <a href="http://parts.igem.org/Part:BBa_K3036004" target="_blank">19BNU part BBa_K3036004 page</a>.</p>
+
<p>RNA thermometers are outstandingly because of their programmable reaction temperature range, high sensitivity and high efficiency. Moreover, they do not rely on extra proteins or are affected by food intake. Here we selected <a href="http://parts.igem.org/Part:BBa_K3247005" target="_blank">NoChill-06 from 19Rice</a> whose documented data is really impressive.
+
<p>In summary, our Kill Switch consists of a toxin/antitoxin system MazF/MazE and an RNA thermometer NoChill-06 to regulate it to deprive of the survivability of engineered Nissle in the environment when excreted from the human intestine. One thing we want to point out is that once the Kill Switch was implanted, the engineered bacteria could no longer be frozen as a glycerol stock, and it must be maintained in the culture media above 30 deree.</p>
+
 
+
</div>
+
  <div class="column half_size">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/2/25/T--Fudan--img_ks4.svg" alt="cold triggered MazF/MazE Kill Switch under body temperature (37℃)" /></div>
+
  <div class="column half_size">
+
    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2020/a/a4/T--Fudan--img_ks3.svg" alt="cold triggered MazF/MazE Kill Switch outside the body (30℃)" />
+
  </div>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
<p>The antitoxin MazE is liable and expressed at a relatively high level. The MazF toxin is constitutively co-expressed with the antitoxin under the control of an RNA thermometer NoChill-06. Under the body temperature (37℃),NoChill-06 unfolds and exposes its ribosome binding site (RBS) to express. MazE and MazF neutralize each other by protein-protein interaction and form a stable complexity in a one-to-two ratio. When the bacteria encounter a cold shock(30℃), MazE is degraded rapidly by an ATP-dependent serine protease ClpAP and releases MazF. The toxin MazF acts as a site-specific endoribonuclease to almost all cellular mRNAs, therefore resulting in cell growth arrest and finally cell death <sup>[4]</sup>. The antitoxin MazE is liable and expressed at a relatively high level. The MazF toxin is constitutively co-expressed with the antitoxin under the control of an RNA thermometer NoChill-06. Under the body temperature (37℃),NoChill-06 unfolds and exposes its ribosome binding site (RBS) to express. MazE and MazF neutralize each other by protein-protein interaction and form a stable complexity in a one-to-two ratio. When the bacteria encounter a cold shock (30℃), MazE is degraded rapidly by an ATP-dependent serine protease ClpAP. Released toxin MazF acts as a site-specific endoribonuclease to almost all cellular mRNAs, therefore resulting in cell growth arrest and finally cell death<sup>[4]</sup>. Click <a href="/Team:Fudan/Engineering">here</a> to see more.</p >
+
</div>
+
 
+
 
+
  <div class="clear extra_space"></div><!-- 一个章节结束需要clear来留白 因为马上最后一幅,建议extra_space -->
+
 
+
<h2>References</h2>
+
  <div class="column full_size">
+
<p>
+
[1] Three Newly Isolated Calcium-Chelating Peptides from Tilapia Bone Collagen Hydrolysate Enhance Calcium Absorption Activity in Intestinal Caco-2 Cells. Wanwen Liao, Hui Chen, Wengang Jin, Zhennai Yang, Yong Cao, and Jianyin Miao. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2020 68 (7), 2091-2098. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b07602<br/>
+
[2] In vitro digestion profile and calcium absorption studies of a sea cucumber ovum derived heptapeptide–calcium complex. Pengbo Cui, Songyi Lin, Ziqi Jin, Beiwei Zhu, Liang Song and Na Sun. Food Funct., 2018,9, 4582-4592. DOI: 10.1039/C8FO00910D.<br/>
+
[3] An Exploration of the Calcium-Binding Mode of Egg White Peptide, Asp-His-Thr-Lys-Glu, and In Vitro Calcium Absorption Studies of Peptide–Calcium Complex. Na Sun, Ziqi Jin, Dongmei Li, Hongjie Yin, and Songyi Lin. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2017 65 (44), 9782-9789. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03705<br/>
+
[4]  Yamaguchi, Y., Inouye, M. Regulation of growth and death in  <i>Escherichia coli </i> by toxin–antitoxin systems. Nat Rev Microbiol 9, 779–790 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro2651
+
</p>
+
  </div>
+
  
 
   <div class="column full_size"><div id="FudanSignature">
 
   <div class="column full_size"><div id="FudanSignature">

Latest revision as of 08:32, 4 December 2020

 
description

Make calcium supplements sustainable

In Asia, many old people suffer from insufficient calcium intake and related diseases such as osteoporosis. Considering that traditional calcium supplementation is not efficient and user-friendly enough, we intended to develop a kind of engineered bacteria based on E. coli that can colonize in the human intestine and secrete peptides to promote calcium absorption. We introduced the quorum sensing system to colonize bacteria in the intestine. Once the bacteria have successfully colonized the intestinal tract, the luxPR promoter will be activated and a series of short peptides that can bind to calcium and promote calcium absorption of intestinal epithelial cells will be expressed. A kill switch is added accordingly for safety. Our project provides a novel delivery method to provide calcium supplements sustainably. And we are actively seeking commercialization possibilities to expand our project impact, to reach more population, for the elderly’s good health and well-being.

Inspiration

Our member Tian Shizheng heard from her grandmother that she suffered from leg pain caused by calcium deficiency when she went home during the holiday, and the effect of taking calcium tablets was not good, so she had to go to the hospital to seek more professional treatment advice. This thing reminds him of insufficient calcium intake,even in the era of rising quality of life when food choices are plentiful.

In January, before the COVID-19 outbreak, one of our members, Xinran Li's grandmother, lost her footing and fell slightly to the ground while playing badminton. As the elderly played badminton together, their speed and movements were not severe, but they still broke their bones because they fell on the ground with their hands. It is not the first time. A few years ago, her grandmother had broken her lower back in a fall while active. It reminds her of many similar cases among other relatives in the past few years, especially among women. As a result of a severe fracture caused by a fall, she needs to take care of her family members, especially middle-aged people. If the family has some school-age children in need of care, the elderly cannot continue to help.

It makes us realize the importance of bone health in the elderly, and osteoporosis is a significant cause of fractures in the elderly. In 2018, the National Health Commission of China released an epidemiological survey of osteoporosis in China, which is the first large-scale multi-center epidemiological survey of osteoporosis among Chinese residents based on community population in China. The results show that osteoporosis has become a significant health problem for people over 50 in China, especially middle-aged and older women. The prevalence rate of osteoporosis reached 32.0% in people over 65 years old, 10.7% in men, and 51.6% in women. Due to the state of low bone mass and the lack of apparent clinical manifestations in the early stage of osteoporosis, the lack of public awareness of the importance of osteoporosis prevention, and the insufficient ability of primary medical and health institutions to prevent osteoporosis, the bone mineral density detection rate of Chinese residents is low.

At present, there are good medical treatments for osteoporosis, but there is still a big gap in preventing calcium deficiency in the elderly. The existing calcium supplement products still have disadvantages such as low absorption rate, poor user experience, and easy to miss taking. So we want to add a new and convenient daily calcium supplement for the elderly to achieve sustainable calcium supplementation and improve the quality of life and health of the elderly. That's where our project came from.

Signature: Shizheng