A Gut Organ Culture Enables Identification of the Causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

In his new article, Dr. Nissan Yissachar and his group from the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University, together with his colleagues from Bar-Ilan University, Kaplan, and Hadassah Medical Centers examined the effect of the FODMAP low carb diet on the gut microbiome of irritable bowel syndrome patients. Researchers collected fecal samples from the patients before and after the diet and by using gut organ culture, developed by Dr. Yissachar and his partners, demonstrated differences in gut microbiome composition and intestinal gene expression. Bifidobacterium adolescentis was identified as a diet-sensitive bacteria that alters gut barrier functions. The current work demonstrates the powerful abilities of the gut organ culture system - detailing diet-induced changes in microbiome composition and identification of specific bacteria that influence intestinal gene expression and function. The researchers anticipate that the gut organ culture system will promote future discoveries of host-microbiome interactions and may potentially support the development of personalized microbiome-based therapies for human diseases.

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