A strain of gut bacteria has been found to be effective in treating chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD) in animal experiments, a team of researchers said yesterday.
It was the first time that such a link was confirmed, the team said.
Gut microbiota is known to be closely related to inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, but its links to COPD was not known previously, Chang Gung University Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science professor Lai Hsin-chih (賴信志) told a news conference at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taipei.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
It is difficult to treat the disease, with patients commonly experiencing repeated inflammations, Lai said.
To find an effective treatment, the team studied gut microbiota strains and found a negative correlation between the strength of gut microbiota and the severity of COPD, he said.
Smoking and air pollution not only affect the lungs, but also increase the possibility of gut inflammations and reduce the number of the probiotics, he said.
In laboratory experiments using mice, the researchers found that the probiotic strain called Parabacteroides goldsteinii MTS01 and its key component molecule, lipopolysaccharide, are effective in ameliorating inflammation in the lungs and intestines, he said.
The team’s paper, titled “Gut microbiota modulates COPD pathogenesis: Role of anti-inflammatory Parabacteroides goldsteinii lipopolysaccharide” was published in the journal Gut last month.
Asked what food might boost the efficacy of the probiotic strain, Lai said his previous studies confirmed that some Chinese herbal medicine, such as lingzhi mushroom and caterpillar fungus, could boost its activity, but further studies are needed to identify the key molecules.
The team can cultivate the probiotic strain in great amounts in laboratory settings, but there is still some way to go before the technique can be commercialized, Chang Gung University researcher Lin Tzu-lung (林稚容) said.
In 2019, 6,301 people in Taiwan died of COPD, Fu Jen Catholic University associate professor of respiratory therapy Lu Chia-chen (陸嘉真) said, citing data from the Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
About 6.1 percent of Taiwanese older than 40 have been diagnosed with COPD, higher than the 2.48 percent estimated by the National Health Insurance database, showing that awareness about the disease is low, she said.
The team expressed the hope that the ministry would continue to support its research so that it can commercialize the technique to produce food additives, health food or even new medicines to treat chronic inflammatory diseases.
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