Mapping bacterial sialic acid metabolism pathways in inflammatory bowel disease sequencing data.

• Grant number: 24/06686-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Lívia Soares Zaramela
• Grantee: Dorivaldo Marques da Silva Junior
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/08554-9 - Establishment of an experimental and computational platform to study host-microbes interactions promoted by sialic acids, AP.JP

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are severe conditions that have been expanding in different regions of the planet, both of which have been associated with dysbiosis of the intestinal flora. A set of molecules of great relevance in intestinal dynamics is sialic acids, a diverse group of carboxylated monosaccharides found at the end of carbohydrate chains and glycoconjugates associated with lipids. It is known that sialic acids participate in pathological processes, as they act as binding sites for pathogens and toxins. Furthermore, certain bacteria have the ability to use them as a source of carbon and nitrogen, can present them on their surface, thus escaping the immune response, or are capable of altering them through metabolic pathways in order to grant them new features. Studies show that the composition of the intestinal microbiota, from birth, is influenced by the intake of oligosaccharides containing sialic acids. Furthermore, it has been shown that the action of sialidases drives bacterial growth, contributing to dysbiosis in a context of intestinal inflammation. Finally, collaboration between microorganisms capable of releasing sialic acids and pathogens has been observed. These observations justify investigation of the role of sialic acids and related proteins in the processes of IBD and CDI. There are several studies in which data capable of this analysis were produced, but not studied with this approach. Thus, the objective is to analyze metagenomics data in search of proteins involved in the transport and metabolism of sialic acids.