Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/915879
MAY PLAY KEY ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENT FOR CROHN'S DISEASE SCIENTISTS HAVE DETERMINED that fung us may play a key role in chronic intestinal inflammation disorders. They found that patients with Crohn's disease tend to have much higher levels of the fung us Candida tropicalis compa red to t hei r hea lt hy fa m i ly members. A new review published in Digestive and Liver Disease looks at these f indings and provides insights into potential new therapeutic approaches using antifungals and probiotics in the treatment of inflam- mator y bowel diseases (IBD) such as Crohn's disease (CD). "The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract is home to trillions of microorganisms, some beneficial and others potentially ha rmful. Recent adva nces in science have allowed us to identify the multitude of organisms inhabiting the GI tract and parse out those that play a role in IBD," ex pla i ned lea d aut hor Ma h moud A . Ghannoum, PhD, of the Center for Medical Mycolog y, Department of Dermatolog y, Case Western Reserve University and, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. "Unfortunately, most research has focused on studying only the bacteria while overlooking a key player, fungus. In order to address this issue, we have focused our efforts on studying the fungal community in the GI tract known as the mycobiome." The review centers on a first of its kind study in which researchers characterized the gut bacterial microbiota (bacteriome) and fungal community (mycobiome) in a number of families that had members with CD a nd hea lthy relatives. They then defined the microbial interactions leading to microbia l imba lance in the fa mi ly members suf fering from CD. They found that family members with CD had fungal (Candida tropicalis) and ba cter ia l (Se r ratia marcesce n s a nd Escherichia coli) imba la nces in their g ut 's microbiome. Interestingly, they showed t hat t hese t h ree orga n isms worked together to form robust digestive plaque biofilms capable of exacerbating intestinal inflammation. A lthough the relationship between bacteria and fungi has been recognized not only in our g ut, but in our body at large, this study proved for the first time that bacteria and fungi actua lly work together to exacerbate the inflammatory symptoms in CD. These results provide insight into the roles of bacteria and fungi in CD and may lead to the development of novel treatment approaches and diag- nostic tests for CD and other debilitating digestive issues. Promising potential treatments could include using antifungals and even pro- biotics that are designed to balance both bacteria and fungi, while breaking down digestive plaque biofilms. Antifunga ls will control the overgrow th of fungi, while probiotics can help restore and maintain the balance of the microbiota, noted the authors. "Our ground-breaking discovery that bacteria and fungi both play a critical role in hea lth and disease has tremendous implications not only for understand- ing the disea se process, but a lso for development of potentially life changing treatments for those who suffer from chronic digestive diseases," concluded Dr. Ghannoum. n 1 8 ❱❱❱❱❱ R E C E N T R E S E A R C H Antifungals and Probiotics 1 8