We hypothesize that the interplay between human host genome expression and gut microbiota (GM) affects the development of chronic metabolic disorders, and that interventions targeting the microbiome and mucosa can therefore reduce the risk of developing metabolic dysfunctions such as obesity, Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
Our intention is to develop an internationally competitive research platform to address this hypothesis. The platform builds on integration of data from human studies, animal models and in vitro studies with state-of the art methods for high-throughput sequencing and analysis of biomarkers of metabolic disorders. The hypothesis will be tested by intervention studies undertaken in this integrated setup. Grain/vegetable-based interventions, which are known to affect the host gut microbiota and metabolism either positively (dietary fibers/whole grain), or negatively (gluten-rich diet), will be applied. We will actively discuss and develop our research in dialogue with companies that produce foods or food ingredients that influence the GM, industries involved in prevention and/or treatment of metabolic and inflammatory diseases, as well as to public health authorities. This will form the basis for development of new functional foods, new innovative products and improved dietary advice, which in a short-term perspective will add to the value of these companies, and in the long-term perspective reduce the occurrence of lifestyle related metabolic diseases. Once developed, the research platform will be available for further intervention studies, and will provide the possibility to study other endpoints and biomarkers than the ones included in the present proposal. The success of the project will place Danish research at the absolute forefront within GM manipulation and host response.