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A team of researchers at Oregon State University has made a breakthrough in understanding the roles of intestinal bacteria in human health. When scientists discover the mechanisms by which intestinal microbes affect the health of their hosts, they open the door to the development of better, more personalized diagnostic methods and treatments.
Other studies are designed to determine the composition of the microbiome, ie which organisms are present and in what quantity, badociated with health in general or with a different disease.
Under the direction of Courtney Armor, PhD student and student, OSU research goes even further by examining not only the organisms present in the microbiome, but also their functions. The team published its findings in mSystèmes.
Working under the direction of Thomas Sharpton, a researcher in microbiology and statistics at OSU College of Science, Armor badyzed data and results from eight different studies covering seven different diseases in a metagenomic meta-badysis.
Metagenomics is defined as the study of genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples; in this case, samples of human faeces, as opposed to organisms grown in the laboratory. A meta-badysis is a statistical technique that combines data from multiple studies.
Armor, Sharpton and their collaborators performed the meta-badysis of metagenomic data from nearly 2,000 stool specimens collected in colorectal cancer studies. Crohn's disease, liver cirrhosis, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and ulcerative colitis.
The intestinal microbiota contains more than 10 000 billion microbial cells from about 1000 species of bacteria. The microbial ecosystem remains in balance through cell-to-cell signaling and the release of antimicrobial peptides that control individual bacterial clades.
Intestinal microbes also interact with their human host, sometimes to promote health, sometimes to contribute to the development of the disease. Dysbiosis or imbalance of the microbiome is usually badociated with adverse effects on the health of the host.
Sharpton added that in their study, they examined the richness, composition and dispersion of the protein families of the gut microbiome related to the disease. Proteins are large, complex molecules that make the bulk of the work in cells and are necessary for the structure, functioning, and regulation of tissues and organs.
Sharpton explained that their badysis of protein family richness revealed that patients with Crohn's disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, or ulcerative colitis had fewer families of proteins than their respective control groups. On the other hand, people with colorectal cancer had a greater amount of families of microbiome proteins than their controls.
Sharpton concluded that they were trying to unravel the causes and effects for solving these needles in haystacks and finding the links between the microbiome and health. Future research can leverage this new knowledge to test the functions of the microbiome against the presence and severity of various diseases.
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