[대학원 생명과학과 세미나 안내]
연사 : 김희남 교수(고려대 바이오시스템의과학부)
연제 : Gut microbiome: the origin of various chronic diseases and COVID-19 severity
일시 : 2021년 06월 04일 (금) 오후 5시
장소 : 온라인 화상 강의로 진행됩니다.
초청교수 : 김태성 교수
Abstract
The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in human physiology and their malfunction has been linked to chronic diseases, including atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel diseases. We have been investigating the interrelationship between the aberrant gut microbiota and atopic dermatitis. We recently discovered that subspecies-level misbalance in one of the main gut bacteria, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, underlies the onset and/or progression of atopic dermatitis. F. prausnitzii has long been known as one of the most beneficial species in the human gut. However, we isolated subspecies of F. prausnitzii that act as pathobionts, enrichment of which in the gut is associated with the disease. In a murine model, the atopic-disease potential caused by the F. prausnitzii pathobionts in dams were inter-generationally transferred to their pups, demonstrating the phenomenon similar to the development of atopic dermatitis in human infants. Increased incidences of atopic dermatitis over the past decades are largely due to lifestyle changes and misbalance in the F. prausnitzii population is thought to be associated with these changes. While current understanding of F. prausnitzii-driven gut microbiology is in its early stage, it will be of tremendous significance in the future to understand the onset and the progression of atopic dermatitis and various chronic diseases.
People infected with COVID-19 experience a wide range of symptoms and severities, and the most commonly reported include high fevers and respiratory problems. However, autopsy and other studies have also revealed that the infection can affect the liver, kidney, heart, spleen, and the gastrointestinal tract. A sizeable fraction of patients hospitalized with breathing problems also have diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, suggesting that when the virus does get involved in the GI tract it increases the severity of the disease. Based on the emerging evidence, I proposed that gut dysfunction—and its associated leaky gut—may exacerbate the severity of infection by enabling the virus to access the surface of the digestive tract and internal organs. What people in the world can do themselves to go through this difficult time of COVID-19 pandemic safely will be discussed.