Green signals in a burnt ecosystem: host–microbe interactions as modulators of intestinal inflammation

This research explores alternative therapeutic approaches for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, conditions where existing anti-inflammatory drugs prove ineffective for many patients. In a healthy gut, the bacterium Faecalibacterium prausnitzii breaks down dietary fibres to produce butyrate, supporting intestinal cells and regulating immune responses, but both this microbe and butyrate levels are sharply depleted during disease. The thesis investigated whether replenishing butyrate and other molecules generated by F. prausnitzii can suppress gut inflammation, evaluating these effects using human immune cell cultures, patient tissue biopsies, and organoids.