Grant: Project Grant

Crohn's disease (CD), a type of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), is characterized by a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The prevalence of IBD in Canada is increasing with the number of patients in Canada predicted to reach to 420,000 by 2035. To date, there is no cure, and the cause(s) remains unknown. While genetic defects play an important role in CD onset, the microbiome among other environmental factors are also important contributor. Our preliminary analysis has shown that inoculation of stool microbiome from participant who later develop CD to germ free animal lead to increased inflammation. This proposal will aim to further explore differential immune responses to these microbiomes. We believe that understanding how the microbiome sample collected before the onset of CD can modulate regulatory cells will unravel the precise cause of CD. This will help us provide novel therapeutic target to attenuate colitis. We hypothesized that the microbiome can either exacerbate or regulate the immune responses leading to excessive inflammation. Moreover, we will test whether introducing microbiome from donors with a very low of risk CD could be a source of protective microbes. In summary this proposal will contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between alteration the gut microbiome and the immune response of the host. Furthermore, these findings could pave the way for a therapeutic approach targeting the microbiome to attenuate the immune response in CD patients.