Qu Biologics is pleased to welcome microbiology expert Dr. Brian Coombes to Vancouver to give a seminar on his recently published research in Nature Communications demonstrating that infection of mice with a strain of Crohn’s associated adherent-invasive E. coli leads to the development of intestinal inflammation in the mice which closely resembles human Crohn’s disease.
Microbial involvement in Crohn’s disease: old dog, new tricks
Canada has a disproportionately high rate of Crohn’s disease among developed countries, with growing incidence especially among an adolescent population. A large body of evidence supports the view that microbes in our gut are altered during Crohn’s disease and participate actively in the disease process, however the mechanisms by which pathogenic or commensal bacteria work together with the host to drive this inflammation are not yet clear. A unifying concept appears to be inflammation of microbial origin. Inflammation in ileal Crohn’s disease seems to enrich for a population of Escherichia coli bacteria that have pathogen-like characteristics, as verified using culture and molecular methods. Adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) are one such group of Crohn’s-associated bacteria that several studies have implicated in disease. We discovered that AIEC elicits stable inflammation and fibrosis in the ileum and large bowel of chronically infected mice, sharing features with human Crohn’s disease. We also found that some AIEC can actively breach microbial defenses set up by ileal Paneth cells, which are a key regulator of intestinal inflammation. Armed with the genomic blueprint of AIEC, we are pursuing animal-based studies to uncover the mechanisms behind the pathogen-like characteristics of this human gut symbiont.
Event Details
Friday, January 17th, 2014
10:30-11:30am
Meeting Room 1A
887 Great Northern Way
Vancouver, BC
Seating is limited. Please RSVP by Wednesday, January 15th at: info@qubiologics.com
About Dr. Brian Coombes
Dr. Brian Coombes is Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is also the Assistant Dean, Graduate Education for the Faculty of Health Sciences. Dr. Coombes received his BSc in Biochemistry (1997) and his PhD in Medical Sciences (2002) from McMaster University. From 2002-2006 he was a CIHR and Michael Smith Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia’s Michael Smith Laboratories in the lab of Dr. Brett Finlay, a world leader in microbial pathogenesis. In 2006, he joined the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences where he runs an active research program in infectious diseases linked to acute and chronic gut infections. He currently holds a Canada Research Chair in Infectious Disease Pathogenesis and is the past recipient of the CIHR New Investigator Award (2007-2011), the Scientific Merit Award from the Public Health Agency of Canada (2007) the Boehringer Ingelheim Young Investigator Award (2010), the Fisher Scientific Prize (2012) and was inducted into Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2010.
About Qu Biologics
Qu Biologics develops Site Specific Immunomodulators (SSI), a novel class of immunotherapies that aim to reboot the body’s immune system. SSIs are designed to stimulate an immune response in targeted organs or tissues to potentially reverse the chronic inflammation underlying many conditions including cancer and autoimmune disease. The company is currently recruiting participants for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to research SSI therapy for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. Learn more: www.quibd.com