Profiling Metabolites for Diagnosing and Monitoring Dysbiosis using Capillary Electrophoresis

Primary Researchers:

George Whitesides

The aim of the proposed research was originally to develop an analytical method for the classification of fecal samples as healthy or dysbiotic, due to differences in the metabolic profile of the gut microbiome as a consequence of an acute or chronic inflammation. We adapted the aim towards a study to analyze and confirm a mechanism by which a healthy state of the human gut is maintained and protected in a symbiotic relationship with gut microbiota. This study—led by our group, but resulting from an effective and close collaboration with the labs of Prof. Ramnik Xavier at The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and Prof. Thaddaeus Stappenbeckat Washington University at St. Louis—combines biochemical, physical-organic, immunological, and cell-biological methods and results to answer the question how the common microbial metabolite butyrate, which also occurs as a dietary component and product of digestion, influences the symbiosis in positive and seemingly non-positive ways.

The results of our study eliminate previous ambiguity about the role of butyrate between human hosts and their symbionts in the gut, provided supporting evidence for an evolutionary hypothesis, and serve to inform subsequent studies that focus on particular aspects (e.g., drug design, diet and nutrition, microbial composition) in detail.