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Fécale transplants have emerged as potential treatment for a wide range of conditionsIncluding irritable colon syndrome, diabetes and even depression. These so -called shit transplants have naturally received a lot of attention, but new research is taking a little wet cover on practice.
The procedure consists in taking microbes from the shit of a healthy person and Transfer them to the colon of a patient. This should restore balance to their intestinal microbiome, but according to a study published on June 6 in the journal CellTransplanted microbes can colonize the bad parts of the digestive system. This can lead to a long time Involuntary health consequenceswarn the researchers.
“I think it’s a bit of a call for alarm clock in the field that we may not have to put on Willy does not put big intestinal microbes in different parts of the intestine which should not be there,” said The main author Orlando “Landon” Deleon, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago, in a press release.
Deleon has led a team of researchers through a series of experiences on mice to determine how fecal transplants affect different parts of the intestine. The mice were separated into three groups. One received microbes from the jéjunum (the median part of the small intestine), the second received microbes from the caecum (a pocket which connects the small intestine to the colon), and the third received a standard fecal graft of the colon.
Each part of the digestive system contains uniquely adapted microbiota. The researchers wanted to see if the microbes would stick to their respective niches once inside the mice. In fact, they found that each of the transplants succeeded in colonizing the complete intestinal tract, creating “discrepancies” of regional intestine which lasted up to three months after the procedure.
The microbes that colonized certain parts of the intestine where they did not belong have triggered metabolic changes in these intestinal regions, with the potential to affect the health and behavior of a patient. The researchers observed changes in eating habits, activity and energy expenditure of the mouse after transplants. They also documented changes in the activity of genes associated with immune function, which has led to changes in the metabolism of the liver. The most surprising was the way in which these foreign microbes modified the expression of genes and proteins in the intestinal lining to make the intestinal region incompatible more suited to them.
“It is as if they had engineering or terror of their environment to help them integrate,” said Deleon.
To determine whether these discrepancies could occur in real fecal transplanted patients, he and his colleagues have carried out additional tests using samples of human tissue. The results have shown that transplanted intestinal bacteria can colonize certain parts of the human digestive system where they do not belong naturally.
“If we design good therapies, we must be aware of the importance of corresponding to the regional microbiota in their appropriate environment, so that we offer better overall health benefits,” said Deleon. For example, the results suggest that it may be safer to use recovered microbes from all parts of the digestive system, according to the researchers.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only recommended Feccal transplants for Treat repeated infections of Difficult clostridiumor C. Diff. This bacteria – which can cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms – most often in case of hospital patients which have been treated with antibiotics. Fécale transplants have tested To be very effective in treating these infections, and these results encouraged researchers to study other applications for this procedure.
A wave of new research suggests that fecal transplants could deal with conditions that go beyond the intestine. Indeed, studies have shown that this procedure could benefit patients neurodevelopmental And psychiatric disorders,, plates sclerosisType 2 diabetes, and more.
Deleon’s results suggest that doctors must better understand the risks of fecal transplants before this treatment can be used for diseases other than C. Diff. It plans to continue to study how different microbes affect each part of the intestine and to explore ways to restore the regions modified to their original state.
This study shows that with regard to intestinal microbes, the location really counts. Obtaining the right insects in the right place could unlock the full potential of feces.
