Projects - SMC (Selena) Davelaar-Koene MSc

The gut microbiome has been heavily emphasized as an important player in human health during past decades of research. Recently, research has highlighted the importance of bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles (bEVs) as a potential mode of interaction between bacteria and their human host, indicating that the population and cargo composition of bEVs can be related to status of health and disease. The production of bEVs can also be a measure of gut microbial activity. This research aims to investigate the relationship between the gut microbiome-derived bEVs, their exposure to diet and exogenous chemicals and subsequent effects on gut health and toxicity parameters. We aim to elucidate the relationships between different bEV microbial origin and cargo, both in healthy and diseased populations: we will conduct an observational study among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and healthy individuals to characterize differences in bEVs in fecal samples. The bEV origin, content and its possible function will be characterized through genetic, proteomic and metabolomic analysis. Through in vitro models we will investigate the impact of dietary fiber, antimicrobial drug residues and foodborne chemical contaminants on bEV composition and function. Subsequently we will assess how changes in bEV composition affect gut health parameters.

The in vivo observational results will provide insights on correlations and existing relationships between gut health and bEVs while the in vitro derived data will provide further mechanistic understanding into the role of bEVs on gut health and toxicity, in relation to dietary exposures and exogenous chemicals.