A European research project coordinated jointly by Dr Mauro D’Amato, head of the Biodonostia Gastrointestinal Genetics Research Group, has analysed the influence of certain genes on people’s intestinal habits, an element that could be an indicator of suffering irritable bowel syndrome. The main conclusions were published in the prestigious Gut journal.
The disorder is one of the most important gastrointestinal diseases. It is estimated that around 15% of the population suffers from the complaint, which is extremely complex given the total ignorance of its causes.
Dr D’Amato underlined that “we have carried out a complete genome association study with a view to characterising the genetic profile of people who have kept a daily record of their intestinal movements, thanks to which we have identified a series of genes that are associated with an increase or decrease in bowel movement frequency”.
Among the said genes, the most abundant fall into two categories: on the one hand, cytochromes, which have the task of eliminating the toxic substances in both drugs and food, and on the other ion channels, which are the ones involved in controlling intestinal muscle contraction. Both are enormously important elements when it comes to bowel movement.
As clarified by the researcher, “once we have identified the biological channels, the proteins and the genes that are important, we can outline therapeutic strategies to try and modulate this function”, something that for D’Amato “may be a first step towards finding a cure for diseases as complex as irritable bowel syndrome”.
The study was published in the prestigious Gut journal. With an impact factor of 14,921 (Q1), this is the second most important journal of the 79 in the Gastroenterology & Hepatology Science category.
Mauro D’Amato is a specialist in molecular genetics who recently joined the Biodonostia team through the Ikerbasque Basque Scientific Foundation’s Research Professors programme. He is the head of the new Gastrointestinal Genetics Research Group (belonging to the Department of Research into Hepatic & Gastrointestinal Diseases directed by Dr Luis Bujanda) at Biodonostia.
About irritable bowel syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most complex gastrointestinal disorders known to date. Its complexity precisely lies in the fact that the causes of the actual disease are unknown, meaning that its diagnosis is largely achieved by exclusion. “The causes are hugely varied, and may be related to stress, to what we eat, to intestinal motility disorders… but they are impossible to establish exactly; hence, even if different people show the same symptoms, the causes are different”, said D’Amato.
