Value Proposition: Human microbe strains with robust colonization efficacy and potent in vivo harvesting of beneficial metabolites involved in infant health.

Technology Description

Researchers from the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Gordon at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered strains of human derived Bifidobacterium infantis & Prevotella copri with probiotic applications that can be useful in the treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition in infants and young children.

Stage of Research

All strains were identified and cultured from a clinical trial of the Evivo infant probiotic B. infantis EVC001 targeting malnutrition in Bangladeshi infants. While EVC001 supplementation is effective at improving severe acute malnutrition, overall levels of B. infantis is considerably lower than in healthy controls. Identifying strains with robust metabolic capabilities and improved colonization capability is therefore needed to enhance the beneficial effects of prospective probiotics and gut microbe-based nutraceuticals.

B. infantis strain Bg2D9 & others (T-019665): Bg2D9 can replicate positive effects on health outcomes such as weight gain in a germ-free mouse model designed to mimic infant acute malnutrition.

P. copri strains (T-020134): Colonization of P. copri significantly improves weight gain and enhances metabolism of dietary glycans, lipids, and other biomarkers associated with intestinal health.

Publications

Hibberd (2024). Bioactive glycans in a microbiome-directed food for children with malnutrition. Nature.

Chang (2024). Prevotella copri-related effects of a therapeutic food for malnutrition. Nature Microbiology.

Barratt(2022). Bifidobacterium infantis treatment promotes weight gain in Bangladeshi infants with severe acute malnutrition. Sci. Transl. Med.

Applications

• Treatment of acute malnutrition

Key Advantages

• Bg2D9 has similar effects on body weight gain relative to EVC001 in vivo, but possess superior colonization efficiency, uptake, and utilization of plant and milk derived carbohydrates in a germ-free mouse model fed a diet representative of Bangladeshi infants.
• In combination, Bg2D9 improves the colonization capabilities of other strains such as P. copri, the effects of which on the host is diet dependent and strain specific. For instance, P. copri’s effects on weight gain was not observed in vivo on mice fed a “conventional” Bangledeshi diet and was only revealed on diets that included specific prebiotic material formulated from other WashU/ICDDRB IP.

Patents

Applications pending.

Related Web Links – Gordon Lab Website