Gut microbiota profiling for diseased states
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gut microbiota profiling for diseased states
IRAS ID
197578
Contact name
Tariq H Iqbal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hosptal Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
The intestinal microbiota of healthy individuals is known to confer a number of health benefits and aberrations in the gut microbiota have also been associated with several diseases. Disruption of the gut microbiome, (dysbiosis) contributes to an inflammatory response which in turn contributes to disease development.
We know that the gut microbiota is essential to the proper function and development of the host but are unsure which are key species and whether the microbiota's function is more important than any individual member of the community.
As the volume of data relating to the composition and functional potential of the gut microbiota increases, the number of diseases that have been linked with alterations in our gut microbial community has also expanded. The development of a clearer understanding of what constitutes a healthy microbiota allows one to establish what, if anything, is unusual within the microbiota of those with various diseases.
This research hence aims to characterize the dynamic functional composition of gut microbiota in diseases in order to understand its mechanisms and pathophysiology. We will collect stool, urine and blood samples from patients with various disease states to perform gut bacteria sequencing, measurements of metabolic and immunological pathways to compare and distinguish microbiota from individuals with various disease states and healthy volunteers and understand its association with immunological and inflammatory pathways. As diet is crucial to determining the colonic microbiome we will include dietary assessment by questionnaire in this study.
The healthy volunteers will already have been characterised as part of our active donor programme for faecal microbiota transplantation. We will be asking their permission to use their anonymised data was the healthy control arm in this pilot study.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0100
Date of REC Opinion
8 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion