PhD Student Ben Gurion University MISHMAR HANEGEV, HaDarom, Israel
Abstract Text: Crohn's disease (CD) involves chronic stress and inflammation along with microbiome and metabolic changes, reflecting the potential role of the gut-immune-brain axis in the disease process. Our research showed that a 3-month trial (NCT05085925) of cognitive behavioral and mindfulness daily exercise (COBMINDEX) intervention improves the well-being of CD patients, associated with changes in systemic inflammation and microbiome profiles. We hypothesize that COBMINDEX rebalances the microbial composition and immune regulation.
CD patients were analyzed for distress, well-being, microbiome, and immune profiles at recruitment and 3 months post-intervention. Samples were categorized into Top Responders (TR) and Poor Responders (PR) based on Harvey Bradshaw Index (HBI) and psychological surveys, compared to healthy controls (HC). PBMCs were analyzed by flow cytometry for CD4 T-cell subsets. Serum samples underwent metabolomics analysis using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry.
We demonstrate that frequencies of exhausted, effector memory, and regulatory CD4 T-cells were significantly increased in the PR as compared to the TR group, along with a reduction in the frequency of naïve CD4 T-cells. Metabolite profiling of serum samples showed distinct patterns between TR and PR individuals such as the PR group had higher levels of the secondary bile acids Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid and Fructoselysine. Overall, both the landscape of CD4 T-cells and the metabolite profile in the TR group exhibited a greater similarity to the HC group.
These observations highlight the potential of COBMINDEX to alleviate the pathology of CD via microbiome-derived metabolites that can impact the inflammatory properties of T cells.
