What is it about?
The bacteria that live in our gut are essential for gastrointestinal health. When these bacteria are disturbed it can lead to illness. Our research (along with others) suggests that it may be possible to measure the level of this disturbance indirectly in faeces. We have shown in mice that we can detect small molecules, known as microRNAs, in faeces, and the levels of some of these microRNAs indicate a disturbance in the microbiota.
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Why is it important?
Many of the techniques for diagnosing gastrointestinal illness are both costly and invasive. In addition, some of these techniques are not without risk to the patient. Diagnosing gastrointestinal illness or disturbance non-invasively is more palatable to the patient, is almost risk-free and in most cases would be quicker in regards the length of stay in the hospital.
Perspectives
This article adds to previous research by others in the field who have also demonstrated that diagnosing intestinal disease using the faeces as a window to the gut will transform clinical and academic research. further research is required to determine the accuracy and stability of these biomarkers but I feel it is more important to start somewhere than never go there at all.
Gerard Moloney
Cork
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Faecal microRNAs: indicators of imbalance at the host-microbe interface?, Beneficial Microbes, February 2018, Wageningen Academic Publishers,
DOI: 10.3920/bm2017.0013.
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