Infants with Cystic Fibrosis lack crucial ‘beneficial bacteria’ in their gut’s bacteria according to new research.
Scientists say this opens the door to dietary treatments for CF that provide infants with the missing bacteria.
As a child goes from the breastfeeding stage to a solid diet, its microbiota – the population of bacteria that reside in the gut – changes along with it. When the microbiota doesn’t develop normally in this way an infant is at risk from Cystic Fibrosis (CF) according to new research led by scientist Ben Ross.
Ross is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Department of Orthopaedics in the Geisel School of Medicine in Dartmouth, New Hampshire.
“We investigated the gut microbiota from cohorts of CF and non CF infants over time and found that in infants with CF microbiota, maturation fails to take place,” said Prof Ross.
The scientists found that a number of species of bacteria that are critical to a child’s development were vnot present in the guts of children with CF.
“These bacteria included well-known beneficial bacteria that are associated with reducing inflammation and their absence in infants with CF has potentially profound implications for health,” said Prof Ross.
The incidence of CF in Ireland – a disease caused by a faulty gene that damages the lungs and other organs – is the highest in the world, affecting 1 in every 19 children born here.
In CF fluids are produced that disrupt the working of lungs and other organs. The condition tends to get worse over time, and it can be fatal if it leads to a serious infection, or the lungs stop working effectively.
“The research is important for people with CF because we now have a very clear picture of a major difference in the CF infant gut microbiota with important health implications for later in life,” said Prof Ross.
Previous research has shown that beneficial gut bacteria are crucial for preventing the chronic inflammation that is the source of many diseases, including colorectal cancer, which people with CF are at higher risk from.
Scientists believe that early intervention to restore crucial missing bacteria in infants or toddlers with CF might provide them with life-long benefits.
This research can lead to development of dietary supplements that can re-establish healthy gut bacteria in infants with CF.
“We identify bacteria known to be beneficial, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, that are less abundant in CF. We believe these are good candidates for prebiotic or postbiotic therapies aimed at boosting their levels.”
Prebiotics are foods, like garlic, leeks or onions, that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in our intestines, while probiotics, such as certain yoghurts, already contain live bacteria that are beneficial to our health. Ross says this latest research also has implications for the use of Trikafta, a prescription medicine that is known as Kaftrio in Europe including in Ireland, to effectively treat CF in people aged 2 or over. It works by enabling certain proteins – which are defective due to CF – to work better in the body.
If Trikafta does not promote beneficial bacteria in the way the researchers have shown in this research, then scientists beliee they could include or add this benefit onto what is an already an effective CF medication.
“A top priority for the field is the need to establish if the newly available, highly effective modulator therapy Trikafta rescues the microbiota from the effects we observed in infants with CF,” said Ross.
“If it does not, I think we have an opportunity, through further research, to significantly add to what is already a life-changing medication.”
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