Targeting D-lactate producing gut microbial strains in pediatric IBD patients

Principal Investigator: 

Prof. Dr. Bahtiyar Yilmaz, PhD, Gastroenterology & Mucosal Immunology Research Group, Department for Biomedical Research, University of Bern. For more information, please visit the website.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is characterized by intestinal dysbiosis with blooming of acid resistant D-lactate producing gut bacteria in pediatric patients. Knowing the existence of D-lactate in IBD patients raises the question whether this altered metabolic conditions can be corrected with a potential primer restoring the microbial balance and modulating mucosal protection. This project aims to characterize the D-lactate levels in pediatric IBD patients and to test whether multi-strain probiotic therapy can reduce the burden of D-lactate produced by gut microbiota and elevate the quality of daily life of the pediatric individuals.