Description:
Reference #: 1678
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for Immunomodulating Activities of Alistipes and Its Metabolites: Mechanism and Application.
Background:
The gut microbiota plays a key role in health and disease. The balance between beneficial genera (such as Alistipes and Odoribacter) and harmful species (such as Escherichia coli) dictates the gut health as well as the overall health of an individual. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown, and only very limited scientific discoveries in this regard have been reduced to clinical practice. The study of the gut microbiota and the organisms within could further methods to treat diseases and disorders associated with the GI tract of humans.
Invention Description:
A group of beneficial gut microbes and their metabolism products may be used as therapies to prevent or treat several common diseases including inflammatory bowel diseases, atherosclerosis, breast cancer, melanoma, and lung cancer. The inventors developed a method to culture the bacteria and isolate/purify the metabolites from the bacterial culture. They also identified the mechanism of action of these bacteria and their metabolites.
Potential Applications:
These microbes could be used in the treatment of diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, atherosclerosis which is the underlying cause of heart attack and stroke, breast cancer, melanoma, and lung cancer.
Advantages and Benefits:
These Alistipes are normal beneficial human gut microbes and, as such, they and their metabolites are safe for humans. The reduction of the gut microbe renders humans vulnerable to the abovementioned diseases; replenishing these bacteria is considered to be an effective and safe preventive strategy for these diseases. The bacteria can be cultured on a large scale and the cost will be relatively low compared with synthesized chemical drugs or more complicated protein drugs already available.