Can gut bacteria restore the immune system in cirrhosis?

With a grant of just over DKK 12.5 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Sidsel Støy will investigate how faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) affects the immune system in patients with liver cirrhosis, also known as cirrhosis of the liver. In patients with cirrhosis, the immune system may be weakened or out of balance, increasing the risk of infections and complications.

FMT is a treatment in which gut bacteria from a healthy donor are transferred to a patient. Sidsel Støy’s research project is based on a Danish randomised trial in which researchers are investigating the clinical effect of the treatment in patients with cirrhosis.

Sidsel Støy will use biological samples from the trial to map the immunological mechanisms behind the effect and examine whether changes in the immune system can predict patients’ response to treatment.

“My hypothesis is that a significant part of the effect is due to FMT restoring balance in the immune system. With this project, we will investigate how the treatment works and who benefits from it,” says Sidsel Støy.

The grant will be used, among other things, to free up research time, employ PhD students and research year students, and carry out advanced immunological analyses.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology and the Department of Blood Bank and Immunology at Aarhus University Hospital, as well as researchers from King’s College London and the University of California San Diego.

Contact

Assistant Professor and medical doctor Sidsel Støy
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology and Department of Blood Bank and Immunology
Telephone: +45 61 66 45 65
Email: [email protected]