Gut And Liver axis in Healthy Population (GALA-HP)
Short summary
The study wishes to compare gut microbiota, host metabolic and gene expression in healthy, matched subjects to patients with liver disease of alcoholic and non-alcoholic etiology.
Rationale
We hypothesize that specific compositional and functional changes in the gut microbiota together with host metabolic and gene expression changes are key predictors for the development and progression of liver fibrosis, the precursor of cirrhosis, in alcohol overusing individuals and individuals with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. To test the hypothesis, we need to compare changes in diseased individuals with a control cohort of healthy subjects.
This project is part of the
GALAXY consortium (Gut-and-liver-axis in alcoholic liver fibrosis), which is exploring the role of the gut microbiome in alcoholic liver fibrosis to improve understanding, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of chronic liver disease. Additionally, the following projects are also a part of the GALAXY consortium:
OP_40 and
OP_80.
Description of the cohort
In GALA-HP we will establish a cross-sectional study at Odense University Hospital comprising 150 healthy individuals from the age 18-75, whom will be included over the next 24 months.
Data and biological material
Pre-screening (duration: 5 min.)
First inclusion visit (duration: 2 hours)
- Weight and height
- Heart rate, blood pressure and EKG
- QoL and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and other baseline questions
- Nutritional status, hand-grip strength, abdominal circumference bio impedance
- Blood testing
- Tissue sampling for biobank (blood, urine, sputum, stool)
- Liver Stiffness measurement and abdominal ultrasound
Second inclusion visit (duration: 3-4 hours)
- Sigmoidoscopy + biopsies
- Magnetic resonance scan
Collaborating researchers and departments
Department of Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology
- Associate Professor Sönke Detlefsen
Novo Nordisk Center for Basic Metabolic Research
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, EMBL, University of Heidelberg, Germany
- Postdoctoral fellow Shinichi Sunagawa
Academy of Athens, Greece
- Consultant Foteini Christodoulou
NNF Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen
Steno Diabetes Centre A/S
Nordic Biosciense A/S
- CEO and professor Morten Karsdal
Laboratory for Fibrosis and Portal Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Bonn, Germany
- Associate Professor Jonel Trebicka
Publications associated with the project
Van Espen L, Bak EG, Beller L, Close L, Deboutte W, Juel HB, Nielsen T, Sinar D, De Coninck L, Frithioff-Bøjsøe C, Fonvig CE, Jacobsen S, Kjærgaard M, Thiele M, Fullam A, Kuhn M, Holm JC, Bork P, Krag A, Hansen T, Arumugam M, Matthijnssens J. A Previously Undescribed Highly Prevalent Phage Identified in a Danish Enteric Virome Catalog. mSystems. 2021 Oct 26;6(5):e0038221. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00382-21. Epub 2021 Oct 19. PMID: 34665009; PMCID: PMC8525569.
Madsen, B. S., Thiele, M., Detlefsen, S., Kjaergaard, M., Møller, L. S., Trebicka, J., Nielsen, M. J., Gudmann, N. S., Leeming, D. J., Karsdal, M. A., & Krag, A. (2021). PRO-C3 and ADAPT algorithm accurately identify patients with advanced fibrosis due to alcohol-related liver disease. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 54(5), 699-708. https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16513
Thiele M, Johansen S, Gudmann NS, Madsen B, Kjaergaard M, Nielsen MJ, Leeming DJ, Jacobsen S, Bendtsen F, Møller S, Detlefsen S, Karsdal M, Krag A; GALAXY Consortium. Progressive alcohol-related liver fibrosis is characterised by imbalanced collagen formation and degradation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2021 Oct;54(8):1070-1080. doi: 10.1111/apt.16567. Epub 2021 Aug 24. PMID: 34428307.