Thanks to a new funding injection, Birmingham researchers will investigate how the gut microbiota can help infants that have iron deficiency anaemia.
New research funded to understand how gut microbiota can help infants that have iron deficiency anaemia. Findings could lead to probiotic treatments that help to lessen the side effects of iron supplements.
Professor Lindsay Hall, from the University of Birmingham, is working with Dr Peter Chivers at Durham University to study early-life gut microbiota, with the aim of improving understanding of how Bifidobacterium bacteria acquires and uses iron. By understanding these interactions, the researchers hope to find new beneficial bacterial therapies that could be used together with iron supplementation strategies to treat iron deficient anaemia in infants.
Iron deficiency anaemia happens when our bodies lack the appropriate amount of iron to make strong and healthy red blood cells. Without these cells, patients are left feeling tired, weak and unwell. Millions of people, including infants and children, suffer from this condition. Normally, iron supplements in the form of drops or fortified foods, are given to boost iron levels, however these are known to have unpleasant side effects such as diarrhoea. These side effects can be even more pronounced in infants, where the gut microbiota is more easily colonised by ‘bad’ bacteria feeding off the iron supplements.
If ‘good’ bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium, can be used through probiotic supplements to outcompete ‘bad’ bacteria for iron in the gut, the side effects of iron fortification could be reduced, making treatments for anaemia kinder for babies and young children.
Although the research is at an early stage, it holds a lot of promise. Improved knowledge could open doors to smarter ways to treat and prevent diseases and conditions, like iron deficiency anaemia, in at-risk infants.
Iron plays a crucial role in bacterial function, but its limited availability in the gastrointestinal tract presents challenges. Bacteria employ various mechanisms to acquire iron, but little is known about these processes in beneficial members of the gut microbiota. This new research hopes to address this, opening up avenues for using beneficial microbes to improve the approach to treating anaemia in infants. The research aims to understand the transmembrane proteins that enable iron uptake, how this system supports the proliferation of ‘good’ bacteria under varying iron levels, and to explore the effects of iron supplementation on the broader microbial community present in the infant gut.
Chair of Microbiome Research
Staff Profile for Professor Lindsay Hall, Chair of Microbiome Research, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham
