Science Philanthropy / Technion
Impact of microbiome-derived metabolites on immune cells
Background
The gut microbiome has co-evolved with the human host for millennia, creating an inextricable and dependent relationship, where the gut bacteria became a vital component of the human immune system.
Both soluble metabolites secreted by the bacteria as well as cellular components such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS) found in the membrane of certain bacteria have been shown to influence the immune system. Naama Geva-Zatorsky recently identified more than 50 different bacterial strains from the gut microbiome that individually impact different systemic immune responses in mice.
However, it is still unknown which metabolites secreted by these bacterial strains are the ones responsible for the modulation of immune responses, and whether the production of these metabolites depends on the availability of specific nutrients.
Understanding these relationships may lead to the identification of novel, rationally-designed nutritional approaches to aid anti-cancer therapy.
Goals
Seerave Foundation is supporting pre-clinical research in the labs of Prof. Naama Geva-Zatorsky, aiming at identifying metabolites produced by the gut microbiota that directly impact the immune system and generate in depth mechanistic understanding about their receptors and downstream signalling by
- Studying the immunomodulatory effects of gut bacteria in response to different nutrition conditions.
- Characterising gene expression changes in human-derived gut bacteria, in response to growthconditions.
- Studying the relevance of immunomodulatory microbial-derived factors in disease models, such as cancer.
- Analysing the microbial-derived immune-modulatory molecular composition in their functional states.
Team
Geva-Zatorsky Lab
Naama Geva-Zatorsky
Principal Investigator
Tal-avi Gefen
Lab Manager
Noa Mandelbaum
Fellow
Roni Keshet
Fellow
Rachel Herren
Fellow