"Treating Autism, Dementia, and Cancer... The Microbiome That Does It All [Reading Science]"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Many microorganisms (microbiomes) exist inside the human body. Although their existence was unknown in the past, recent studies have revealed that they play various roles in the human body, from food digestion and endocrine function regulation to nerve transmission, immune enhancement, cancer suppression, inflammation treatment, and metabolic regulation. As awareness grows that maintaining and regulating the ecosystem (microbiome) formed by gut microbiota is important for health, the related market is also rapidly expanding.

◇What are Gut Microbiota?

Various microorganisms such as bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi exist on human skin and body cavities. The collective group of these microorganisms is called the microbiome. They form an ecological community with the host human and interact to play important roles in maintaining health or causing diseases. Among them, most of the microorganisms that significantly affect health live in the human gut. They produce various compounds that play crucial roles in food digestion, intestinal secretion functions, nerve signal regulation, immune enhancement, drug action, and metabolic regulation. In other words, gut microbiota influence host cell proliferation and angiogenesis, making them effective in treating a wide range of diseases.

Gut microbiota can be divided into beneficial bacteria (probiotics) and harmful bacteria (bad bacteria). Beneficial bacteria include Bifidobacteria, Escherichia coli, and Lactobacillus, while harmful bacteria include Campylobacter, Enterococcus, and Clostridium. The health of the ecosystem formed by these bacteria in the gut is key, and it is known to be influenced by lifestyle factors such as breastfeeding and diet, acquired environments like alcohol consumption and medication, as well as genetic factors.

◇Why is it Important?

The Microbiota-Gut-Brain axis theory is gaining attention. Previously, the dominant theory was the ‘Brain-Gut axis,’ which suggested that changes in brain function affect gut function. However, recent studies have reported that gut microbiota, in turn, have a significant impact on human health, giving rise to the ‘Microbiota-Gut-Brain axis’ theory, which emphasizes the influence of gut microbiota on both the gut and brain. For example, a representative case is a study where gut microbiota from healthy individuals were transplanted into autistic children, resulting in improvement of autism symptoms, which were previously considered nearly untreatable. Through this, scientists are conducting various studies to explore the potential for treating brain diseases via gut bacteria, achieving some results. According to a research and development (R&D) report published last month by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the number of papers related to gut microbiota worldwide was only 406 in the 1990s and 2000s but surged to 61,482 between 2016 and 2020. In Korea, research has been active with government support for basic research projects. In 2018, 23 projects (3.319 billion KRW), in 2019, 32 projects (4.618 billion KRW), and in 2020, 40 projects (6.683 billion KRW) were funded, resulting in major papers (SCI publications) numbering 14 in 2018, 24 in 2019, and 61 in 2020, showing significant achievements.

◇Major Research Achievements

The diverse health and disease-related functions of gut microbiota are being revealed one after another. A research team at Yonsei University recently confirmed that P8, a microbial-derived protein, has a colon cancer suppressive effect. They genetically engineered microbes to overproduce P8 protein and administered them to a colon cancer animal model (mice), showing excellent anticancer effects. Additionally, a research team at Pohang University of Science and Technology confirmed that polysaccharides extracted from yeast suppress inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and multiple sclerosis (MS). It was also revealed that COVID-19 causes changes in gut microbiota. A research team at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center in the U.S. published a study in May last year showing changes in microbial communities in the gut and lungs of severe COVID-19 patients. This indicated that COVID-19 significantly affects the human body and, conversely, that these microorganisms play an important role in human health. In Italy, a study published in August 2020 revealed that substances produced by gut microbiota act as causes of Alzheimer’s disease, shocking the world. Furthermore, Capital Medical University in China published a paper in March last year showing that transplanting gut microbiota into mice with spinal cord injuries led to nerve recovery. Alongside this, the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology confirmed in July 2020 that substances derived from gut microbiota regulate the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, suggesting potential effects on host, i.e., human longevity.

◇Microbiome: The Trend in Food and Pharmaceuticals

With the advancement of big data, computing, and genetic analysis technologies enabling rapid research, the microbiome has emerged as a major trend in the functional and medicinal food and pharmaceutical markets. The rapid development of ultra-high-speed, large-capacity sequencing technology has made it possible to analyze gut microbiota and understand their mechanisms in the ecosystem more accurately and quickly. The accumulation of knowledge about these new functions and actions is leading to increased new product development by food and pharmaceutical companies. The global microbiome market is growing rapidly. According to the National Biotechnology Policy Research Center at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, the market is expected to grow from $81.1 billion in 2019 to $108.68 billion by 2023, at an average annual growth rate of 6%. The domestic probiotics market also expanded sharply from 51.9 billion KRW in 2012 to 190.3 billion KRW in 2016, growing at an average annual rate of 38.4% between 2012 and 2016. According to the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, the global probiotics market exceeded $4.3 billion in 2020 and is growing at an average annual rate of 8.7%.

Professor Kim Dong-hyun of Seoul National University pointed out the need for research support on new functions of gut microbiota. Professor Kim said, "While many international studies are being published on the discovery of new roles of gut microbiota, most domestic research is limited to confirming differences in microbiomes between patients with specific diseases and healthy individuals or verifying efficacy. Solid basic research on microbiomes is necessary to lead to the development of gut microbiota-based products with international competitiveness."