Title: Shaping the Disease Microbiome with Dietary and Lifestyle Interventions

 

Abstract: The contribution of the microbiome to homeostatic regulation extends beyond the gut to almost all tissues in our body. However, despite the mutualistic symbiosis between humans and their associated microbiota this healthy balance of the microbes in the gut is fragile and can be disrupted either through dietary and lifestyle choices or medication. This disruption is subsequently leading to the occurrence of various chronic diseases often related to an inflammatory condition. Actually, over the past century we have witnessed a substantial increase of most microbiome-linked pathologies. The changes that have occurred in lifestyle might be leading to disruption of gut microbiota-host symbiosis through the loss of protective or expansion of pathogenic microbes. In particular Western diet, which is poor in microbiota-accessible carbohydrates, has been linked to an irreversible reduction of bacterial diversity and complete vanishing of particular bacterial species in the gastrointestinal tract. During my talk I would share successful stories from our lab where probiotics (Li et al., 2016, PNAS), exercise (Liu et al., 2020, Cell Metabolism) and dietary interventions (unpublished data) have shaped the microbiome with the potential to drive real change in clinical practise and transform medicine.