Bacterial Integrity: A quick microbiota test will help treat depression and obesity

In Russia, a system for analyzing the intestinal microbiota, which has no domestic analogues, has begun to be tested in clinical practice. A unique multiplex PCR-based system provides results on the day of treatment, is cheaper than sequencing, and will help doctors select treatments based on the individual composition of the microflora. Such an express analysis will allow doctors to select probiotics and therapy more specifically, taking into account the individual composition of the intestinal microflora of the patient. The technology may be in demand for gastrointestinal diseases, immune pathologies, anxiety and depressive disorders, and obesity — wherever the work of the "gut–brain" and "gut–immunity" axes is disrupted. At the same time, experts emphasize that the prospects of such tests are really high, but it is important not to overestimate their capabilities.

A new analysis of the intestinal microbiota

Specialists from the Scientific and Technological Institute of Metabolic Health of the First Moscow State Medical University are testing an innovative system for analyzing the intestinal microbiota. The development allows for personalized therapy of disorders of the composition of this "organ", which affects all body systems, the duration and quality of human life.

The scientific community has been actively studying the intestinal microbiota for about 20 years, experts told Izvestia. However, the main method of its analysis is still sequencing, a technology that allows you to determine the exact sequence of nucleotides in DNA or RNA. According to experts, this approach has a number of limitations: the high cost of research and the need to attract bioinformatics specialists make it difficult to widely implement it in clinical practice. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) may replace this method, which is inaccessible to ordinary doctors. This is exactly the test that was presented at the university.

— The development allows for a quantitative assessment of the composition of the microbiota of the large intestine, determining the content of the most important taxa, opportunistic flora and fungi of the genus Candida. An innovative set of reagents makes it possible to obtain the result of the study on the day of treatment and has a relatively low cost," said Vladimir Ivashkin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, chief freelance gastroenterologist at the Russian Ministry of Health, Director of the Scientific and Technological Institute of Metabolic Health at Sechenov University.

According to him, the introduction of the method into widespread clinical practice will make the assessment of the intestinal microbiota more accessible to patients and will contribute to the development of personalized medicine. The university's specialists are now continuing to explore key issues.: how the composition of the microbiota changes in various diseases, how its disorders can be corrected, as well as how the microbiota affects the effectiveness of therapy.

— Determining the composition of the intestinal microbiota may give doctors the opportunity to prescribe to the patient exactly those drugs that will be effective in his case. In addition, this analysis can become an additional diagnostic tool in cases where standard methods give contradictory or questionable results," explained Roman Maslennikov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Metabolic Health at Sechenov University.

In his opinion, thanks to an innovative approach, the appointment of probiotics can become personalized, and the response to them can be more predictable.

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Who can benefit from a quick microbiota test?

This study can be shown not only in patients with intestinal diseases, but also in diseases of the liver, nervous and immune systems, respiratory organs, blood circulation, etc.

— There are a lot of nerve and immune cells in the intestine. The "gut–immunity" and "gut–brain" axes are of high interest to doctors, including immunologists, rheumatologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists. Therefore, the study of the microbiota and methods of influencing it open up new opportunities for the development of personalized therapy. And, accordingly, improving the quality and life expectancy of the population of our country," added Vladimir Ivashkin.

The intestinal microbiota is the conductor of a huge orchestra, where the immune system, nervous system and metabolism perform the parts. Until now, scientists have been looking at it through expensive sequencing binoculars, an analysis of the genome of bacteria and fungi in the intestine that is available only to a few laboratories, molecular biologist Arina Kholkina told Izvestia.

— The prospects of the new tool are enormous: we obtain a quantitative map of key Candida bacteria and fungi per day. This means that the doctor will be able to prescribe probiotics and therapy not at random, but purposefully, based on the actual composition of the patient's microbiota. This can help with diseases of not only the intestines, but also the liver, immune pathologies, anxiety and depressive disorders, and obesity. Wherever the gut–brain and gut–immunity axes fail," the expert noted.

According to her, the effect on longevity may be due to the early correction of the so-called senile inflammation. It is believed that restoring the balance of the microbiota can reduce the level of systemic inflammation, maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier and affect the nervous regulation of the body.

At the same time, Albert Rizvanov, head of the Personalized Medicine Center of Excellence at Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, stressed that the prospects for such tests are really high, but it is important not to overestimate their capabilities. He noted that PCR approaches benefit from the speed of obtaining results, lower cost and reproducibility, which makes them convenient for clinical use. However, their limitation remains the lower "depth" of the analysis.

— The effect on longevity here is indirect: it is not about a "long life test", but about the possibility of earlier detecting imbalances associated with chronic inflammation, metabolic syndrome or immune dysregulation, and correcting them. If such approaches are integrated with clinical data and behavioral factors, they can become part of a preventive medicine system that has a real impact on quality and life expectancy," the expert said.

The new test system was developed by Sechenov University's partner, DNA Technology TS LLC. ​