Microbiota as a biomarker for prediction of mucocutaneous adverse effects of biologics used in inflammatory bowel disease

Biologics are powerful group of drugs used in treatment of many inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Their use is often limited by muco-cutaneous adverse events. Pathogenesis of these events is poorly understood, and patients would benefit from the existence of predictive biomarker. Microbes may serve as such biomarker, due to their close interaction with the hosts immune system, and proven role in IBD pathogenesis. In this project, we will use cutting-edge metagenomics approach paired with broad array of immunological methods to analyze gut and skin microbiota (both bacteria and fungi) and immune response against them in patients treated with biologics (e.g. anti-TNF-alpha or anti-IL-12/23). We will correlate the immune response to microbial antigens and change in microbiota during the treatment with appearance and severity of dermatological complications. These results may not only lead to the set of predictive biomarkers, but also to the proposition of new therapeutic targets, thus improving future therapies of inflammatory diseases.