MIRPA (v 0.6)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Microflora Immune Regulating Products & Asthma
IRAS ID
146527
Contact name
JULIAN HOPKIN
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
ABM University Health Board (Research & Development)
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Asthma causes long term morbidity and commitment to treatments including anti-inflammatory steroid in 5% of both children and adults. There is an urgent need to develop preventive approaches, hitherto absent. Current best evidence suggests that asthma is caused by both genetic and environmental influences, and one key hypothesis for the latter is diminished exposure to microbes in early life. Very recent observations support this hypothesis by demonstrating that human microbiota have anti-inflammatory properties through products that regulate human immunity (T-reg). Our own population observations link asthma development strongly to past receipt of certain antibiotics in infancy. Hence this exploratory study will test, in infants' stool samples, to what degree microbiota species and their immune regulating products - specifically short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and oxysterol species - are deleted by antibiotic receipts in infancy. State of art molecular methods will be deployed in MRC and EPSRC funded laboratories. The study represents a starting point for understanding and advancing both the prudent prescription of antibiotics in early-life and the potential for developing SCFAs and specific oxysterol species as preventive agents against asthma and other chronic inflammatory diseases.
REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
15/WA/0022
Date of REC Opinion
2 Feb 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion