Grant: Project Grant

The old adage "You are what you eat" has been gaining traction in scientific circles as we continue to discover pathways that microbes living within our intestines use to break down the food we eat and produce small compounds (metabolites) that influence the function of our own cells. It is truly remarkable how much has been learned in the last decade, including identification of some previously unknown diet-derived metabolites that appear to prevent or treat disease in mouse models of autoimmunity and inflammation. Here, we propose to build on previous research from our lab showing that a particular type of dietary fiber (guar gum) has a powerful effect on immune cell activation that delays development of a multiple sclerosis (MS)-like autoimmune disease in mice. One of the most remarkable findings of these studies is the discovery that this is not a common feature of other fibers, which suggests that the microbes lining our intestines (the microbiota) are producing a unique suite of metabolites when they feed on guar gum. Our goals are to: identify the breakdown products (ie metabolites) of this dietary fiber, determine the pathways that the identified metabolite(s) alter in immune cell activation, and test whether guar gum itself or the metabolites produced by its digestion can treat MS-like disease in mice. Given that Canada has the highest rate of MS globally, these studies have the potential to affect the well-being of a large number of Canadians who are at risk of developing or are living with MS.