Human Metagenome Research Looks Forward to "China's Dance"

On February 5,, the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the results of the research results of theon human metagenomics andhealth jointly completed by five institutions in China and the United KingdomThe human metagenome is actually another term for the human microbiomeIn recent years, research in this field has been heating up, including the start of the human metagenome program and the publication of important research papers on metagenomes, prompting more scientific researchers to pay attentionRecently, the reporter interviewed Professor Zhao Liping of the Institute of Systems Biomedical Research of Shanghai Jiaotong University, who participated in the preparations for the International Research Alliance (IHMC) of the Human Microbiology GroupThe important role of the "small""the human body symbiotic micro-organisms as many as 1000 kinds, their genes together called the 'microbiome', also known as the 'human metagenome'Professor Zhao Liping told reporters: "It has always been believed that a creature, whether single-celled bacteria or higher organisms like humans, is controlled by genetic information to keep its life and death." However, more and more studies have shown that in addition to the physiological metabolism and growth and development of the human body by their own genes control, the human body symbiotic large number of micro-organisms genetic information also plays an important role, they encode the number of genes of the human body's own 50 to 100 times, equivalent to the human body's "second genome."It is these symbiosis in the human body, invisible to the naked eye, "small" people, human immunity, nutrition and metabolism play a vital roleOn the one hand, thehealthchanges in the
body
, the composition of symbiotic microorganisms in the body will change; Therefore, the composition of human symbiotic microorganisms can reflect the health status of the human body truthfully and accuratelyIn view of the understanding of the importance of the human metagenome for human health, the scientific community has actively carried out relevant researchFor example, researchers in the European Union, the United States and Japan have launched human metagenome research programsProfessor Zhao Liping mentioned in particular that on December 9-10 last year, scientists from britain, the United States, France and China in the United States were in the middle of the establishment of the International Research Alliance (IHMC) of the Human Microbiology Group, and plans to jointly launch the Human Metagenome Project in April this year to begin a comprehensive study of the human metagenomeThe project, known as the Second Human Genome Project, will sequence and perform functional analysis of all symbiotic microbiomes in the human body, with a sequence measurement effort equivalent to at least 10 human genome projects, and the potential to identify more than 1 million new genes, leading to breakthroughs in new drug development, drug toxicity control and individualized drug useFocusing on chronic systemic metabolicdiseases
predicted in the Journal of Science last December that the study of human symbiotic microorganisms will probably be one of the seven important areas in which international scientific research made a breakthrough in 2008Professor Zhao Liping said that the current human metagenome study found that in addition to the changes and imbalances in the structure of the intestinal flora will lead todiseases of the intestines, but also with many chronic systemic metabolicdiseases, such as diabetes, obesity, and even cancerIn the past, intestinal diseases, namely non-infectious intestinal diseases (such as irritable bowel syndrome), which have not been found to be exactly the pathogen, now suggest that structural disorders of the microbiome in the gut may have a significant bearing on itThus, in the treatment, you can choose some micro-ecological preparations to improve intestinal flora disordersDiabetes was originally thought to be a sugar metabolism abnormality, but now studies have found that microflora disorders may be a contributing factor to the development of diabetesThe team, led by Professor Zhao Liping, found that there was a change in the number of certain bacteria in the intestines of the diabetic model animals - a significant decline in the number of two lactic acid bacteria Foreign studies have also reported that the supplementation of lactic acid bacteria can alleviate the symptoms of diabetes in model animals This "one minus one plus" fact suggests that certain types of lactic acid bacteria in the intestines may be involved in the development of diabetes Changes in the flora are not only a consequence of diabetes, but may also be a cause of diabetes Although obesity is influenced by certain genetic factors, environmental factors also play an important role in it Professor Zhao Liping stressed that the flora is one of them, that is, diet structural changes caused by abnormal bacterial structure can lead to obesity Gordon, an American scholar, and his colleagues have made breakthroughs in a series of studies on the relationship between obesity and flora in recent years They found that there were significant differences in the composition of the intestinal flora of hereditary fat mice and thin mice, and that the obesity phenotype could shift between individuals with the microflora; Even more exciting is the discovery that the gut flora can directly regulate the gene expression activity of the host fat storage tissue, allowing the host to increase the accumulation of fat These studies strongly support the role of gut flora in the physiological metabolism of "superorganisms" such as humans This proves, in another way, that obesity is the result of a co-action between human and microbial genes, and even to some extent, the latter may have a greater effect "Chinese dance" should be able to lead the way
in the world to the human metagenome research has increased research efforts, at the same time, Chinese scholars are not willing to show weakness At present, around the relationship between intestinal flora and infectious diseases, the national "973" project led by the of the first affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University has been launched; With the cooperation of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), CDC in Zhabei District and the Luwan District CDC, more than 1,000 Shanghai resident "nutrition, flora and obesity case control study" on-site physical examination and collection of blood, urine and fecal samples, which is currently the largest international human metagenome population research project, attracted international peer attention But on the whole, the research of human metagenome in China is still in its infancy How to make full use of China's unique advantages to participate in international competition and speed up the pace of human metagenome research is a problem that needs us to think seriously In the interview, Professor Zhao Liping repeatedly stressed that China has many advantages, if properly organized, in the international human metagenome research on the big stage, should be able to jump out of a beautiful "Chinese dance." One of the advantages: sample integrity current, China is experiencing from malnutrition to overnutrition diet structural changes, the corresponding changes in the structure of the human microbiome, which in different economic development areas have a good sample, coupled with China's large population, different ethnic groups, regions, living habits and disease types will form a rich variety of human flora structure, containing a wealth of genetic resources "Developed countries and regions have gone through changes in the structure of their diets , and it is difficult to find such a sample, " says Prof Zhao "Therefore, we should step up research to understand the effects of changes in different dietary structures and flora on major diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cancer, so as to take appropriate measures to stop or reverse the increase in chronic diseases." Advantage two: Chinese medicine change a person's genes is difficult, and changing the composition of microorganisms living in the human body is relatively easy in the country's traditional medicine has many drugs, therapy is likely to change the structure of the intestinal flora, affect the metabolism of the intestine to complete the therapeutic effect Therefore, Chinese medicine Chinese medicine may play an important role in the study of human metagenomes Professor Zhao Liping believes that we should put some of the excellent heritage of Chinese medicine that can interfere with intestinal flora, regulate human health, prevent and control chronic diseases, use human metagenomics, metabolomics, computational biology and other research methods to dig, organize, to crude, de-counterfeit, so that the international community can understand and recognize the effects of these drugs and therapies, which is also an important contribution to the development of international medicine Advantage three: multidisciplinary team study of human metagenome, not only a genetic sequencing problem, but also need microbiology, human physiology, bioinformatics, computer science and other multidisciplinary joint research, to carry out its functional research, is a difficult "collective dance." In the past few years, Chinese scientists with the common interest of the project as a link, formed a multidisciplinary cross-cutting research team, and with foreign first-class research institutions to establish a good cooperative relationship, so that China's metagenome research has formed a "sequencing and functional, basic and clinical synchronization" of the important features, unique in the international human metagenome research Professor Zhao Liping stressed that the results published in PNAS fully demonstrate the power of multidisciplinary cross-research: from The Institute of System Biomedical Research of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University First affiliated Hospital , the National Human Genome Research Center and the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and five institutions of imperial University of Technology, the international team of nearly 3 Through a detailed analysis of the intestinal microbiome composition and human metabolic characteristics of seven members of a Chinese family, the initial identification of some important functional bacteria involved in the human metabolic process in the gut has been identified, which has laid a good foundation for a deep understanding of the mechanism of bacterial participation in human health, and also provides a good method for functional methogenomics Professor Zhao Liping stressed that, as the of Chinese medicine said, "work is not sick", the prevention and early intervention of the disease is more important than treatment The early detection of changes in the microbiome to predict and early warning of the occurrence of disease, in the early onset of disease, by correcting the imbalance of the flora intervention, low cost and obvious effect Therefore, China should actively play its own unique advantages, in the international competition of human metagenome research to occupy the commanding point, to promote human health to make an important contribution (Bai Yi)