Award details

Changes in gut microbe-host interactions and their impact beyond the gut

Reference	BBS/E/F/000PR10355
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Simon Carding
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Naiara Beraza, Professor Lindsay Jennifer Hall, Dr Tamas Korcsmaros, Professor Arjan Narbad, Dr Stephen Robinson, Professor Tom Wileman
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Quadram Institute Bioscience Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	8,820,236
Status	Current
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2018
End date	31/03/2023
Duration	47 months

Abstract

The intestinal microbiota is resilient to change, with alterations in community composition and activity occurring as a result of exposure to various environmental factors and insults such as diet, drugs (antibiotics), infection, surgery and lifestyle. Such changes are being increasingly associated with a number of chronic diseases including those affecting organ systems such as the liver, musculoskeletal system and the brain. In particular, there is an increasing appreciation of the role gut microbes play in influencing liver function and central metabolism (the gut-microbiome-liver axis) and brain development and function (the gut-microbiome-brain axis), which may provide future treatments for serious degenerative diseases. Key observations linking the gut microbiome to mental health and chronic age-related neurodegenerative conditions include demonstrating a relationship between diet-related changes in the gut microbiota and altered cognitive flexibility, the ability of key microbial metabolites to influence the physiology of the blood brain barrier, and alterations in neurotransmitter production by gut bacteria. However, the majority of studies to date suffer from being correlative and providing few mechanistic insights. The expertise and track record in commensal microbiology and gut and liver physiology of QIB-based research leaders and in the enteric nervous (ENS) and endocrine (ES) systems provided by our HEI-based partners, provides the skills, expertise and experimental systems required to undertake the mechanistic studies necessary to define the relationship between gut microbes and other organ systems central to human health. Theme 2 will address how changes in microbiota-host interactions in the gut impact on the functionality of other organ systems including the liver and the brain. This theme involves a 360-participant longitudinal population based study of age-associated changes in the intestinal microbiome in elderly individuals stratified according to their risk of developing dementia. Theme 2 Outputs To provide: (1) an improved mechanistic understanding of the bidirectional interactions occurring at the mucosal interface in the ageing gut to help develop strategies that improve intestinal barrier function. (2) new multiscale models of the dynamics of the gut system and of the microbiota. (3) new, systems-level and mechanistic insights into how ageing influences the microbiota and its role in endocrine and neuronal signalling pathways. (4) establish links between the intestinal microbiome and age-associated declines in mental health.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Microbiology, Neuroscience and Behaviour
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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