The Powerful Impact Gut Microbes Have on Overall Health and in Multiple Sclerosis

In a recent study, scientists were able to discover more about the relationship between the human body and the gut microbes within it. What they found was that these microbes have far more power than previously thought. Gut health may even be connected to multiple sclerosis.

The gut’s role within the body

While it might not be polite to discuss the gut over well-mannered conversation, it is extremely important to overall health. Within the gut, there are trillions of microbes by the name of gut microbiota, and the more they are studied, the more crucial they appear to be. However, it is hard to get a grasp on how exactly the molecular mechanisms that facilitate this interaction operate.

The gut has a lining of mucus that enables it to properly interact with these microbes. Within the colon, the mucus layer separates into two layers. There is an outer layer, which is looser and acts as a welcoming environment for bacteria, which is where we reap the benefits of their presence. Then there is an inner layer that is used as more of a protective barrier, stopping bacteria from transcending the lining of the gut, where they would be able to potentially be harmful.

The combination of these linings within our gut is referred to as glycan chains, which are able to store nutrients that may be needed in the future. They also offer a place for bacteria to attach in order to colonise the outer layer of mucus.

While this might not seem too complicated, it is important to keep in mind that there are over one hundred different oligosaccharides that have been proven to exist within the colon of humans. To make matters even more complicated, different types of variations of the oligosaccharides have been recently shown to be connected to variations in the way gut microbiota is composed.

As the amount of information available about the interactions of gut microbiota increases, it becomes more and more difficult to ignore how intertwined it seems to be with our health. Scientists predict that these communications within our body may be ways to control the composition of the microbiota in various locations within the gastrointestinal tract to maintain healthy function.

More about the study

The study was conducted at the Quadram institute by Dr. Nathalie Juge. She led a team of researchers at the Institution to look into how mucin glycan interacts with the gut microbiota, and how they might impact it.

Dr. Juge and her team utilized Ruminococcus gnavus, which is a type of human gut microbiota that is often present, to form a baseline of understanding in terms of these organisms. What they discovered was that this carbohydrate-binding module is also capable of binding to mucus. Specifically, they are able to identify sialic acid, which is a certain type of sugar molecule that serves the end of mucin glycan chains. The mucus that is then discharged by the body is put to use by lining the gut, which is then filled with a gradient of mucins capped with sialic acids. As a result, the concentration that exists along the human gastrointestinal tract continues to rise dramatically.

It is important to note that in different species, sialic acid in mucins vary drastically, so the same response will not always be present across the board. While this may initially appear confusing, the variations actually offer further evidence that microbiota interactions are certainly species-specific.

Synchrotron Oxford, the University of East Anglia, and the University of California also collaborated with the Quadram Institute.

If you are interested in reading more about the study, it has been published in the journal Nature Communications. The project was made possible by the funding of the US National Institutes of Health and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Read on to learn more about the results and how gut health can benefit multiple sclerosis.