It’s been all go since our last update on the Invest in ME Research studies of the Gut Microbiome in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS for research purposes) in April. Firstly, thanks to all the patients and carers responding to the call to provide samples for the latest phase of this research. The patients taking part are under the care of Consultant Immunologist, Dr Amolak Bansal. The lab work is done at world-renowned Norwich Research Park, the base for the Invest in ME Research Centre of Excellence for ME. PhD student Daniel Vipond and Dr Navena Navaneetharaja have been busy (and getting up at 2am to set out on their journeys on some days) collecting samples from several severely ill house bound patients – an admirable result as patients with severe ME are not easy to access and they have only been collecting these samples for a relatively short time.

It’s wonderful that Dr Navena Navaneetharaja is still actively involved in this research now that she is a qualified medical doctor. As a medical student working on the Invest in ME Research on the gut microbiome, she spent three months in USA working with Professor Maureen Hanson in her lab at Cornell University.

Professor Maureen Hanson gave a presentation at the Invest in ME Conference in London on 3rd June, prior to publication of a paper on 23rd June,
‘Reduced diversity and altered composition of the gut microbiome in individuals with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome’, which has received widespread attention in mainstream and international media.

The Cornell researchers found a lower diversity of bacterial species present in the gut of ME/CFS patients compared to controls. This lower diversity of gut bacteria is also found in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both of which are caused by a malfunctioning immune system.

They were also able to identify patients with ME/CFS and healthy controls with 83% accuracy by analysing bacterial DNA from the gut microbiome.

Science writer Conrad Bower reported in The Canary that Professor Hanson,
“tantalised the conference with news of an as yet unpublished study, using microbiome metabolites as biomarkers, that has achieved 100% accuracy in diagnosing ME/CFS.”

At the conference, Professor Tom Wileman talked about viruses in the gut – the gut virome. The gut contains billions of bacteria, and has its own immune system, which ignores our own bacteria and attacks ‘bad bacteria’.

Some viruses live in or on the gut bacteria. These viruses are called bacteriophages (or phages for short). A number of small and large viruses are involved. They may kill the good as well as bad bacteria.

The greater the diversity of viruses, the less the diversity of bacteria.

Professor Wileman described the technique they used to find viruses in the gut. 100mg of faeces was placed in water, centrifuged and strained to obtain just the viruses. 16 samples of those with moderate ME/CFS have been studied. Each sample gives 2 million readouts. Software then sequences the viruses. 23 different families of bacteria were found, each with different phages. The imbalance of phage population may correlate with disease. This has been shown in inflammatory bowel disease.

Another familiar face at the Invest in ME Conference Events, Professor Mady Hornig, discussed the programme at Columbia University, USA. Microbiota are complex and involve the whole body. Many factors can cause disruption across the lifespan, from pregnancy to birth and infancy. Then follows environmental effects, genetic development and issues such as antibiotics. Professor Mady Hornig led a public meeting at Norwich Research Park last October with PhD student working on the Invest in ME Research on B-cells, Fane Mensah.

Professor Simon Carding’s conference presentation on the recently formed European ME Research Group included reference to their plans to build on current activity and feasibility, such as: 1) Infectious origin a) environment b) microbiome alterations 2) Clinical trials a) Rituximab b) Bacteria based therapy.

This all underlines the Invest in ME Research strategy of facilitating international collaboration in their development of a UK/European Centre of Excellence for ME, as well as world-class professional support for the next generation of medical doctors and scientists. The charity commented that the continuing work and atmosphere at Norwich Research Park is very encouraging.

The full presentations at the 11th Invest in ME Conference in June are on the IIMEC11 DVD. Written summaries are in the official Conference Report prepared by Dr. Rosamund Vallings. You can find it on the Invest in ME Conference & Colloquium website here and in pdf here.

The second paper from the Invest in ME Research strategy was published on 6th June in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. Dr Navena Navaneetharaja is lead author of this detailed review, which examines mounting evidence pointing towards an infectious and autoimmune basis for ME/CFS, with emphasis placed on the impact of the intestinal microbiota and virome – the bacterial and viral communities resident within our gut.  The paper is co-authored with medical student Verity Griffiths, Professor Simon Carding and Professor Tom Wileman from the University of East Anglia Norwich Medical School and Institute of Food Research, all based at Norwich Research Park. It is titled, ‘A Role for the Intestinal Microbiota and Virome in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)?‘

So what’s next?

From a summary ‘ME/CFS – New review advocates a spotlight on both bacteria and viruses within the gut‘ on the Gut Health and Food Safety Programme blog, by Dr Navena Navaneetharaja,

“Our recent review highlights current understanding of the role of infection in triggering myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We focus on the origin of persistent immune-related symptoms in the condition and describe mechanisms that may explain underlying immune impairment and potential autoimmune processes in ME/CFS, where B cell depletion therapy is of significant therapeutic benefit. We also provide focus for further research by exploring the potential impact of the intestinal microbiome and virome using sensitive study designs.”

She concluded,

“The next steps in the Carding lab are to correlate phage populations in patients with severe disease compared to house-matched controls. This work has the potential to elucidate more distinct subpopulations within current ME/CFS classifications and of upmost importance, has the potential to influence therapeutics, providing much-needed approaches in preventing and managing a disease in need of confronting.”

In an article on the review for the Institute of Food Research, ‘Do the Answers to ME/CFS lie within our Gut? Ben Halford wrote,

“Whilst virus detection and identification is currently difficult, the virome is considered more stable and personal than our resident bacterial communities potentially pointing towards a specific virome profile for ME/CFS patients.

If the detailed research efforts can be accelerated and conducted in a co-ordinated fashion, it will support the development of therapeutics to address and alleviate the diverse range of incapacitating symptoms of ME/CFS, and will then ultimately provide much hope in moving towards prevention of a disease ignored for too long.”

Two new PhD students will start in September/October in Norwich Research Park. One is funded by Invest in ME. The other is a self-funding student who is experienced in laboratory work and was specifically interested in participating in the ME research which has been started at UEA/IFR.

A third student position funded by Invest in ME is being advertised later in the summer.  With Daniel Vipond, this makes four PhD positions current or planned involved with the research into ME at Norwich Research Park.

The charity is also aiming to keep the MedRes studentships going as these have turned out to be very successful in many ways. These highly motivated medical students are not only very helpful for the research projects but they also become better ME-educated doctors as well as influencing their student peers. Some even stay involved in ME research!

The excellent work and progress described above in the careful and coordinated search for biological markers and medical treatment options for this disease is enabled by innovative and generous supporters raising funds in a number of ways, such as doing charity collections for Invest in ME, sponsored challenges (including the IFR Chilli M.E. Challenge!), fundraising events, selling handmade crafts or other items, taking part in various ways to raise funds for free, offering matched funding, or simply donating to the charity.

The dedicated fundraising page for the Invest in ME Gut Research on JustGiving received a welcome boost of €3115 in May, thanks to Noreen and Anthony Murphy and their friends and family Walk for M.E. at the beautiful Belvedere House and Gardens at Mullingar in Ireland for ME Awareness Month.

Thank you everyone supporting this vital research.

Ways to donate to the Invest in ME Gut Research

JustGiving – justgiving.com/fundraising/gutmicrobiome

Text MEGR66 (£1-£5 or £10) to 70070 (UK only).

Bank Transfer:

Please specify code BRF04MICROBIOME to donate to the Invest in ME Gut Research Fund.

Bank: Lloyds TSB Eastleigh
Sorting code: 30-92-94
Account number: 02252685

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Full info, FAQs, News, Donate – on Invest in ME website.

Thank you for your support!

(last updated August 2016)