Enhancing our Gut Flora for disease and allergy intervention

The bacterial make-up of our microbiome is variable and depends on many factors, including current diet, how we were fed as infants, antibiotic exposure, and hygiene. Even with all of these factors contributing to the development of our microbiome from birth, it is still incredibly dynamic. It was shown recently that a change in diet from plant based to meat based will significantly change the composition of the gut flora in just a single day. It was well understood that our microbiome would adapt to our diet, but it wasn't clear just how quickly it could adjust.

This is especially intriguing because the microbiome has been implicated in both allergies and a host of dietary based diseases, such as Crohn's disease, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome. If we could manipulate the make-up of our gut-flora, would it be possible to help prevent allergies, or diseases caused by food sensitivity?

Recent work has shown that it may be possible to reduce the sensitivity to food allergens by altering the bacteria in the gut. The Nagler lab at the University of Chicago used mice grown in sterile environments that have no gut-flora and have sensitivities to some

food allergens. They then introduced a microbiota strain Clostridia, and it reduced the mouse's sensitivity to a peanut allergen by regulating the permeability of the intestinal cells.

In a similar vein, The Kennedy lab at the MetaGenoPolis in France have made progress in reducing disease symptoms by augmenting the microbiota. They have discovered that the introduction of a fermented milk product containing Bifidobacterium animalis increases short chain fatty acids and decreases pathogenic bacteria in the gut. This occurred in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, and correlated with improvement of the disease.

Together, these studies show potential for probiotic therapies, introducing specific microflora into the gut to help alleviate allergies or intestinal disorders. We still may be far away from a simple pill that eliminates common food allergies like peanuts, or allowing those with Crohn's disease to live a gluten filled life. However, by studying the microbiome and understanding what goes wrong in common allergies and disease we can began to understand how we can engineer our own gut flora to help those afflicted.

Resources:

Brown, K. & Decoffe, D. et al. Diet-Induced Dysbiosis of the Intestinal Microbiota and the Effects on Immunity and Disease. Nutrients 4, 1095-1119 (2012).

David, L.A. et al. Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature 505, 559-563 (2014).

Johnson, C. Tummy Troubles. UC San diego health center News room.

Qin, J. & Li, R. et al. A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing. Nature 464, 59-65 (2010).

Sears, C.L. A dynamic partnership: Celebrating our gut flora. Anaerobe 11, 247-251 (2005).

Stefka, A.T. & Feehley, T. et al. Commensal bacteria protect against food allergen sensitization. PNAS 111, 13145-13150 (2014).

Veiga, P. et al. Changes of the human gut microbiome induced by a fermented milk product. Scientific Reports 4, 6328-6336 (2014)

Image credits:

The image comes from an article from the UC San Diego Health center newsroom written by Christin Johnson.