Grant: Project Grant

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a debilitating condition characterized by continuous inflammation and intense recurrences, or flares. There is no cure for IBD, and the surveillance regimen involves routine endoscopy to monitor disease. Endoscopy requires bowel preparation, which is performed by administering a laxative and clearing intestinal contents. Some studies have shown that bowel preps in IBD patients can worsen inflammation. The goal of this project is to define the effects of bowel preparation on gut inflammation in IBD via its impact on the gut microbiota. Our microbiota is a unique, constantly evolving consortium of trillions of bacteria that live in and on our bodies. Gut microbes produce compounds that are absorbed into our blood, providing nourishment, and affecting diverse functions such as digestion, immunity, and neurodevelopment. Importantly, the microbiota is impacted in IBD and some bacterial species that are present in IBD patients are thought to promote inflammation and can thrive due to the disruption caused by bowel prep. This project will use a combination of cutting-edge experimental and computational techniques to study the connection between the IBD gut microbiota, bowel prep and inflammation. We have previously shown that exposure to bowel prep laxatives can cause the diversity of microbes in the gut of experimental animals to decrease, such that certain key species completely disappear, and the host becomes more susceptible to infection by pathogens. We will now measure the effects of bowel prep on IBD patients and measure changes in gut microbes. Furthermore, we will identify the mechanisms by which some microbes survive in the altered gut environment during bowel prep to increase inflammation. New knowledge from this project may inform and impact the use and frequency of bowel prep in IBD patients.