Microbiota - Next Gen Probiotics

This next generation probiotics can be helpful in new personalised therapies. They are made from microorganisms used to improve health, you can found them in foods and supplements. The ones sold today are mainly lactic acid producing bacteria like bifidobacteria and lactobacillus, isolated from yogurt and milk.

Lactobacillus reuteri

The next generation probiotics can come from the human gut microbiota and they will be used as a medical therapy instead of only improving health. They will be used in conjunction with bacterial cultivation, genome sequencing and tools to modify bacterial genomes. Their range is extended by our ever increasing knowledge of the composition and function of the human gut microbiome. The Next-Gen probiotics are coming from healthy humans. Take Clostridium Difficile infection (CDI) for example, which is prevented by the healthy microbiota acting as a barrier. However, using antibiotics (this being a major risk factor), can be weakened. We can use antibiotic also as an effective treatment for CDI, but because of the consequences mentioned before, relapse occurs on up to 30% of the patients. There were attempts of successfully eliminate CDI via faecal transplantation, and one of the more promising species was identified for future use. It is called Lactobacillus reuteri and it is a bacterium producing an antibacterial compound called reuterin, using glycerol. This bacteria has antibiotic resistance, preventing the recurrence of CDI.

Other promising candidates are Faecalibacterium prausnitii, Eubacterium halii, Bacteroides Fragilis and Akkermansia muciniphila. Take the last one, Akkermansia muciniphila, which is present in low levels in the intestinal tract of the individuals who have Diabetes type 2 or are obese. Tested on mice, reduced the body weight, enhanced glucose tolerance and decreased the presence of endotoxins in blood. The major difference from the actual probiotics is that the new ones will originate from the human microbiota and will be used for personalised therapies (if a patient is lacking certain beneficial microbes, they will be administered). But they are not on the market yet and further research is needed at the moment.

Akkermansia muciniphila