biochemistry - carbohydrates

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is lifelong, debilitating condition that afflicts one in every 150 Canadians. Worryingly, the number of people diagnosed with IBD is rising worldwide, including among new Canadians and children. There is currently no cure for IBD, so treatment options are limited to managing symptoms with anti-inflammatory drugs.

Metastasis, which is the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumor to other areas in the body, remains the main cause of cancer related death. Awareness of the clinical importance of metastasis and our basic scientific understanding of the metastatic process has improved substantially over the past few decades. However, many aspects of metastasis are still not well defined and our ability to identify patients at high risk for cancer spread is limited.

The complex microbial ecosystem inhabiting the distal human gut, known as the gut microbiota, is inextricably linked to human health, playing central roles in maintaining host immunity, safeguarding the host against pathogens, and extracting energy from the otherwise indigestible complex carbohydrates found in dietary fibre. 

Recently, loss-of-function mutations of the GBA1 gene, which encodes glucocerebrosidase (GCase), have been characterized as a major genetic risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Patients carrying these mutations have a much higher incidence of PD, earlier onset, and more severe disease.