I have gathered a few interesting recent research highlights about the human microbiome that I thought you might find interesting, see below.

· The gut microbiome and autoimmune diseases

Nearly 8,000 human microbiome strains have recently been isolated from the human digestive tract, preserved in the OpenBiome Microbiome Library (BIO-ML), and paired with 3,632 genome sequences and longitudinal multi-omics data. Interestingly, microbial species maintain stable population sizes within and across humans. Variation of gut metabolites within people appears to be associated with amino acid levels, and differences across people correlate with differences in bile acids.

· The maternal microbiome

Transmission of the majority of maternal microbial strains to the infant occurs through the vaginal birth process. This transmission is substantially disrupted in deliveries via cesarean section as has recently been demonstrated. This is even of higher relevance than originally recognized as it suggests that diseases in childhood and later in life are potentially mediated by the perturbation of the colonization of the infant gut microbiota. The study applied longitudinal sampling and whole-genome shotgun metagenomic analysis to 1,679 gut microbiota samples from 596 full-term babies with a subset of additional matched samples from mothers.

· Gut microbes may have a direct association with dementia risk

Dysregulation of the gut microbiome is suggested to be associated with several life-threatening conditions and thus might represent a useful target for the prevention of dementia. A multivariable analysis showed that the populations of enterotype I and enterotype III bacteria were strongly associated with dementia, independent of the traditional dementia biomarkers.

· Antibiotics affect the outcome of immunotherapy

A 200-cancer-patient study demonstrated that taking broad-spectrum antibiotics in the months before immunotherapy for cancer can negatively impact treatment outcome: the median survival rate post-immunotherapy was reduced from 26 months to two months between the two groups.

PMWC, Jan. 21-24, 2020 in Silicon Valley, has dedicated a large portion of Track 5, “Health Data / Microbiome / Patient Education” to exploring advances and opportunities in the area of the microbiome, see the lineup:

1. Microbiome Based Precision Medicine: State Of The Science: The current state of the science and current approaches in precision medicine will be discussed.
· Karim Dabbagh, Second Genome
· Ethan Grant, Gilead Sciences
· Scott Plevy, Synlogic Therapeutics
· Paul Garofolo, Locus Bio
2. Rethinking The Composition Of A Rational Antibiotic Arsenal In The Age Of The Microbiome: Margaret Peg Riley (University of Massachusetts Amherst) in a fireside chat with Keith Yamamoto (UCSF) will discuss her research focused on the development of targeted bacteriocin-based antimicrobials, whose use results in lower levels of antibiotic resistance and limits collateral damage to the microbiome. Her lab is applying these same approaches to develop bacteriocin-based biopesticides, to limit the need for antibiotic use in food production and thus reduce the exposure of our microbiomes to food-based antibiotics.

3. Clinical Applications of Microbiome in Cancer: A growing body of evidence suggests that the broader community of gut microbes may influence cancer risk, provide diagnostic insight, shape clinical course, and impact treatment success. Microbiome-directed therapies hold tremendous promise for personalized therapies and improved treatment outcomes.
· Marcel van den Brink, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
· Kevin Horgan, Seres Therapeutics

4. Gut Microbiome and Cardiovascular Diseases: Exploration of the gut microbiota has expanded our insights into how microbial composition and function impacts the human host. This talk will discuss several newly discovered gut microbial communities and metabolic pathways, including the production of dietary nutrient metabolites and secondary bile acids that appear to participate in the development and progression of cardiometabolic diseases.
· Wai Hong Wilson Tang, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at CWRU

5. Investment into the Microbiome: Over the past decade, almost US billion has been invested in human microbiome research. Major projects are underway in the US, EU, China, Canada, Ireland, South Korea and Japan. This session will provide the biotech and life sciences VC community perspective.
· Manoj Dadlani, CosmosID
· Alex Morgan, Khosla Ventures
· Denise Kelly, Seventure Partners

6. The Microbiome: Keys To Unlocking It In the Clinic: Understanding the mechanism of action and translating microbiome science into commercially viable therapeutics remains the biggest challenge in this emerging field. This session will include some of the most impactful and promising areas of the microbiome field which includes:
– Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT)
– Microbiome Profiling through “Omics” Methods
– The Skin Microbiome
– Regulatory Affairs & Standardization
– Microbiome & Metabolic Disorders
– Gastroenterology & the Microbiome
– Pre-Clinical & Clinical Development
– Showcase

I have a gut feeling that you will find great value in joining me at PMWC Jan. 21-24, 2020 to be part of the discussions and updates on this incredibly active area in medical research. So don’t miss out on this great opportunity to learn first-hand how the microbiome is presenting compelling opportunities for precision medicine!

The rate to register goes up November 21: WWW.PMWCINTL.COM/REGISTRATION/
I hope you will join us!