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Shaun Lamoureux Best MMSF Operating Grant Award Winner

Contributing partner: Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba

Humans do not digest dietary fibres – instead, they are broken down (fermented) by gut microbes (bacteria and yeast), typically promoting health. However, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients can experience worsening symptoms after eating fibres for unknown reasons. Our previous work assessed several different fibres (e.g., β-fructans) and showed that whole, unfermented β-fructans can promote gut damage in specific IBD patients. This negative response was the result of a loss of patient gut microbe’s ability to break down β-fructan, more common in patients with active disease.

We believe that promoting growth of healthy gut microbes and their ability to ferment β-fructans will inhibit fibre-associated progression of IBD.

In this study we aim to:

1) Identify how the human cells are involved in inflammation and cancer-promoting response to dietary β-fructans using cells in the lab and IBD patient biopsies cultured in the laboratory

2) Uncover the precise role of the previously identified microbial factors in regulating host response to associated β-fructans by stimulating and/or inhibiting these predictive microbial factors and measuring outcomes

3) Validate biomarkers or response to β-fructans in our readily available clinical biological specimens (stool, serum, biopsies).

Use of β-fructans is largely touted to provide benefits to healthy individuals and some persons with IBD in remission. However, our work is the first to demonstrate some patients experience negative effects of fibres. Understanding how this happens would allow us to develop more safe, readily available, and affordable dietary interventions and microbe-altering therapeutics to reduce disease burden in patients with dietary-fibre sensitivities.

Panel Writeup

The impact of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease consists of two diseases – Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Symptoms include abdominal pain and cramping, diarrhea, bloody stool, rectal bleeding and nausea and vomiting.

Canada has among the highest incidence rates of Crohn's and colitis in the world – 300,000 people across the country, according to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. The direct annual cost of caring for Canadians with IBD is estimated at $1.28 billion.

The prevalence of Crohn’s and colitis in Canadian children has risen more than 50% in the last 10 years. Children with Crohn’s or colitis have different disease complications, respond differently to treatments, and are at a greater risk of side effects of medication as compared to adults.

Research shows that the probability of a person developing colorectal cancer after having Crohn’s or colitis for 10 years is 2%. After that, risk continues to rise and is as high as 30% after 30 years. In other words, as age increases, so does risk.