MICRoMED – Microbial Restoration of intestinal Metabolite balance for type 2 Diabetes 11915 "The microbial population in the gut and the metabolites it produces play an important role in health. Metabolites have a significant signalling role

"The gut microbiome, the collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract, has a profound impact on the development and maintenance of a healthy immune system. From birth, the microbiome influences how the human immune system responds to resident and invading microbes, which in turn influences our susceptibility to common diseases and long-term health outcomes. Recent advances in microbiome research have highlighted the importance of a healthy gut in prevention of several diseases, ranging from irritable bowel syndrome, to inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, antibiotic associated diarrhoea (including _Clostridium difficile_ associated disease), autism, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The bacteria present in the gut communicate with the human host by making molecules that not only influence the gut lining but have widespread effects throughout the body. For example, molecules produced by the gut microbiome can have effects on the liver triggering a reduced production of lipids, and the brain by triggering production of serotonin in the gut.

In this project, CHAIN Biotechnology Ltd will develop harmless gut bacteria to increase the production of naturally occurring molecules that are often lacking in patients who are suffering from or who are at risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and colitis. Our first focus will be on T2D, which places a huge commercial and medical burden on the healthcare industry and can have devastating effects for sufferers such as amputations or loss of vision. Success in this project may lead to treatments for other conditions that have been associated with a disturbance of the microbiome and an inflammatory background such as inflammatory bowel disease, Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease."