Food Science
Presenter(s): Alyssa Levien, Emily Hickey
Advisor(s): Dr. John Mikalvcic
Intro: The debilitating symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease greatly impact the quality of life of those affected. Previous studies have shown that isolated dietary gangliosides from buttermilk powder can help improve these symptoms and are safe for consumption. The objective of this study is to determine if dietary gangliosides found in buttermilk powder can improve the disease activity and quality of life of pediatric-aged children moderately affected by the disease. Method: This clinical research trial will recruit 48 participants from the CHOC. Once informed consent is obtained, participants will be enrolled in a 10 week trial period. The inclusion criteria for the study include: being 8-18 years old, having mild/moderate ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s Diseases, and are a patient at CHOC. Exclusion criteria include: severe disease activity index, below or above 8-18 years old, or pregnant. During the 10 week period, half of the participants (the treatment group) will consume 5 grams of buttermilk powder per day. The placebo group will consume anhydrous milk fat. Blood tests, calprotectin tests, stool and urine samples, as well as quality of life surveys will be given out and completed at the beginning and end of study. Throughout the trial, adverse event questionnaires will be filled out each week to moderate the overall effectiveness of the treatment. All of these tests and questionnaires assess disease activity, intestinal permeability, calprotectin levels, and quality of life. Results: It is expected that the treatment group will have improved quality of life, decreased symptoms, and improved intestinal integrity over the 10 week period when compared to the placebo group. Additionally, it is anticipated to see a decrease in inflammation and calprotectin levels in the treatment group. Significance: After completion of this study, the findings may support increased use of dietary gangliosides as a treatment to reduce symptoms and intestinal inflammation. Successful completion of this study can lead to more clinical trials and evidence.
Use of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae to Induce Inflammation in Caco-2 BBE Intestinal Epithelial Cells
Presenter(s): Jordan Skolnick
Advisor(s): Dr. John Miklavcic
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition that afflicts millions of people worldwide and burdens those affected physically, emotionally and financially. There is a significant need for better treatments for this disease due to the lack of efficacy or response to current therapeutic measures. The barrier to investigating novel treatments exists because there is no specific experimental model for IBD. This experiment aims to create a cellular model of IBD that could be utilized to test potential biologic treatments before human clinical trials. CaCo-2 BBE intestinal epithelial cells were incubated with the yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (SC). Lysates of baker’s yeast (Fleishmann’s Active Dry Yeast), brewer’s yeast (SafeAle US-05, Fermentis), and a lab strain of SC (obtained from Dr. Nancy Da Silva lab at UC Irvine) were added to CaCo-2 BBE cell culture growth media (1% or 10% v/v). CaCo-2 BBE were grown without inflammatory stimulus (negative control) or with dextran sodium sulfate (positive control; 4% w/v). Cell culture supernatants were collected after 8 or 24 hours and assessed for the concentration of inflammatory cytokines TNFα and IL-1β using ELISA kits (RayBiotech) and read using a spectrophotometer at 450 nm. After 8 hours incubation with baker’s yeast there was a dose-dependent increase in TNFα production when incubated in the absence (β= 83.75, p<0.05) and presence (beta = 144.4; p=0.086) of inflammatory stimulus. After 8 hours incubation with brewer’s yeast there was a dose-dependent increase in TNFα production when incubated in the absence (β=90) and presence (β=177) of inflammatory stimulus; though the p-value for the regression analysis was not statistically significant. IL-1beta was not detected above background levels in any experiments. Future study should refine the types and concentrations of SC yeast and incubation time used to create this model; and validate the model by assessing more outcomes specific to IBD.