Bulletin No. 1, 2023

Unravelling the microverse of bacteria MagIC has teams now working on research into the early-life gut health of infants and children, which they consider the “golden age” of microbiota manipulation. Early intervention can ward off conditions as or before they develop, at a time that gut health is more malleable. Other MagIC researchers are investigating the physiological role that bacteria play in influencing obesity, metabolic disorders, and Type 2 diabetes. Gut bacteria can disrupt digestion, vitamin synthesis and the formation and oxidation of fatty acids. The exact interaction between bacteria and obesity is far from perfectly understood, but a fertile field of research. There’s a very clear link between the digestive system and inflammatory bowel disease, including conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Environmental factors play a much-greater role in any pathogenesis, with, for instance, early-childhood overuse of antibiotics a potential contributing factor for bowel conditions in later life. MagIC has had its greatest early success during the pandemic, the research team showed that microbiome markers are good indicators of whether a patient would develop a serious case of Covid-19, or progress to “long Covid”. “We were the first in the world to show that the microbiome profile determines if you’ll get really sick from Covid or not,” Professor Ng explains. “If you have long Covid, your gut microbiome profile is very different. Some people have brain fog, chronic fatigue syndrome, the different types of microbes can explain that.” Making magic of faeces MagIC is also attempting to improve the delivery of intestinal microbiota transplants. Such faecal transplants have a long history in Chinese medicine, Professor Ng notes, with “yellow dragon soup” essentially a faecal solution that was used as a traditional treatment for food poisoning and other stomach maladies. Currently, faecal transplants have been approved in the US in treating recurrent infections from the Clostridioides difficile bacterium, an infection that often doesn’t respond to antibiotics but can cause persistent, even fatal, diarrhoea and colitis. Professor Ng recalls treating her first patient in Hong Kong with the condition. The 88-year-old man had sought treatment in mainland China without success, and was afflicted with crippling diarrhoea that forced him to the toilet 10 times per day. After Professor Ng and her team treated the patient with a faecal transplant from his son, the patient saw an immediate benefit, and was essentially cured of the condition within six months. Envisioning a healthier future 19 Where the MagIC Happens