Discovering Novel Treatments

Evidence shows that ulcerative colitis may be a response to an imbalance of bacteria in the gut. Fecal microbiota transplantation, also known as a ‘stool transplant,’ is an in-demand procedure that has been shown to help patients find disease remission. Dr. Steiner’s proposal aims to help more patients reach remission and improve their quality of life through fecal microbiota transplantation.

Dr. Steiner will study how the procedure is administered in a clinic and at home, and assess its safety and effectiveness. The robust dataset will be submitted to Health Canada to make this procedure accessible to more people.

Dr. Gendron and his team will investigate the therapeutic potential of molecules called UDP analogs (uridine diphosphate-mimicking molecules) for the treatment of IBD. Dr. Gendron’s work, in partnership with Dr. Bilha FIshcer of Bar-Ilan University in Israel, hopes to develop molecules that can help block inflammation and promote healing of the intestine. If successful, this will help keep people with IBD in remission.

The immune system is home to defensive cells called macrophages. Existing research based on animal models shows that treating macrophages with the immune-signalling molecule IL4 reduces symptoms and promotes healing of IBD.

Dr. McKay is taking this research to the next level by exploring the potential to replicate these results in human cells. Dr. McKay’s study lays the groundwork for the development of a personalized therapy that uses a patient’s own cells to combat IBD symptoms and promote healing.

Blunting complex immune responses like those leading to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) without compromising the ability of our immune system to protect us against infections and cancer is a long-sought after, but daunting goal.

Dr. Santamaria’s project is founded on the discovery of a new paradigm in the treatment of autoimmune diseases (caused by the white blood cells of the immune system), specifically the development of a ‘nanomedicine’ (a new type of drug composed of very tiny particles) that can cure several different autoimmune diseases in mice by expanding disease-specific 'regulatory' white blood cells.

These regulatory white blood cells put the brakes on the disease-causing autoimmune attack by suppressing the white blood cell of the immune system responsible for orchestrating disease-causing immune responses (the so-called “antigen-presenting cells”). Since the regulatory white blood cells expanded by the developed nanomedicines selectively target the antigen-presenting cells orchestrating a specific disease, they cannot cause generalized suppression of the immune system.

Human IBD is the result of a dysregulated immune response to gut bacteria. Dr. Santamaria has discovered that regulatory white blood cells targeting proteins expressed by gut bacteria can reset this balance and protect mice from colitis.

Dr. Turvey is attaching tiny gold nanoparticles to peptides to reduce inflammation. He’s had positive results so far using this therapy to improve the health of IBD mice and will now launch larger scale studies to confirm the benefits. Ultimately, this research will facilitate the development of new nanomedicines to treat people living with IBD.

Dr. Vallance is studying immune cells involved in protecting gut tissue from foreign bacteria. He is looking at ways of improving these cells’ abilities to control inflammation and promote gut healing in IBD.

Dr. Steiner is looking to enhance the ability of a white blood cell (regulatory T cells) to keep inflammation in check. They will collect these cells from human volunteers and improve function to find the best method to scale up and develop a therapy for IBD patients.

Using IBD patient biopsies and animal models, Dr. Ghia will study the role of Semaphorin, a secreted protein involved in COPD and arthritis, in regulating intestinal inflammation.

Dr. Surette is trying to determine the mechanisms by which fecal transplantation works by identifying all the microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and viruses) present in UC patients before and after treatment. The goal is to make fecal transplantation more effective and accessible with fewer potential risks.

Dr. Wine will be using new technologies to locate and 'trap' bacteria that are recognized by the patients' own immune system and likely lead to disease. The results of this research will provide new markers that could be used to help diagnose children (and later adults) with IBD and possibly to even find new treatments.