Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Studying the trillions of bacteria which share our body space could lead to new treatments for immune diseases including the range of adult and childhood arthritides.

 

We are absolutely delighted with this Strategic Award from Arthritis Research UK. The funding will allow our consortium to push forward with its goal of bridging the gap between microbiome description and function, a key first step in unlocking the potential of the microbiome to yield new therapies for inflammatory diseases. - Professor Fiona Powrie

The bacteria that live in our gut, mouth and elsewhere on our bodies, collectively referred to as the 'microbiome', exert influence over the body’s immune system. Although many of these interactions are beneficial, changes in the microbiome may contribute to the development of immune and inflammatory diseases.

Now, a new consortium led by Professor Fiona Powrie FRS, Director of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology aims to unlock the link between gut bacteria and the development of immune diseases.

The £2 million research programme is funded by Arthritis Research UK and represents a substantial investment in this area by the charity.

Once defined, manipulation of the microbiome, and in particular specific bacterial species linked to disease, is expected to open up new possibilities for treatment across the range of inflammatory arthritides.

Professor Fiona Powrie explains: 'We are absolutely delighted with this Strategic Award from Arthritis Research UK. The funding will allow our consortium to push forward with its goal of bridging the gap between microbiome description and function, a key first step in unlocking the potential of the microbiome to yield new therapies for inflammatory diseases.'

Using a multidisciplinary approach, the programme brings together an international consortium of world leading scientists from multiple complementary disciplines.

The Oxford team at the Kennedy and the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) is joined by research partners from Birmingham and UCL, as well as collaborators in the US at Harvard University, New York University and Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.

Their extensive clinical, immunological, computational and microbiological expertise places them in a unique position to perform in-depth analysis to define causal relationships between distinct members of the microbiota and inflammatory arthritis.

The programme will shed light on the role of the gut microbiome in early arthritis, established rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and childhood arthritis, and is expected to reveal how manipulation of bacterial communities may present a novel therapeutic for this set of diseases.

The potential benefit from improving our understanding of the relationship between the microbiome and arthritis is huge and could transform healthcare. This research could lead to the development of entirely new treatments or preventative medicines which could be as simple as changing the way you eat.

Dr Stephen Simpson, director of research and programmes at Arthritis Research UK said:

'We hope that this award will help us understand the relationship between the bacteria in our gut and human health, specifically arthritis. This knowledge is absolutely essential if we are to develop new treatments that could one day revolutionise the way we prevent and treat painful and debilitating conditions like inflammatory arthritis.'

 

Image credit: Shutterstock.

Similar stories

NIHR Fellowships awarded to NDORMS researchers

Congratulations to Eileen Morrow and Mae Chester-Jones who have received NIHR Doctoral Fellowships

ORUK Early Career Research Fellowship awarded to NDORMS researcher

Congratulations to Jack Tu who has been awarded an Orthopaedic Research UK Early Career Research Fellowship to explore the cause of knee pain after total knee replacement.

OCTRU - delivering answers to important clinical questions

The Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU) has received NIHR benchmarking results and offers excellent value for money according to the report

Unhelpful thoughts about fracture symptoms hinder recovery

The importance of mindsets and feelings about fracture symptoms have been shown to be a key factor in recovery of musculoskeletal conditions.

Fat tissues can play a protective role against inflammation in the intestine

A new study in The EMBO Journal has revealed how fat tissues might provide a protective role in intestinal inflammation opening new lines of research into the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

NDORMS researchers awarded Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowships

Kennedy Institute researchers Mariana Borsa and Edward Jenkins have both been awarded Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships, which give recently qualified postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to start independent research careers.