title: Transcriptomics to study the effect of a Mediterranean-inspired diet on inflammation in Crohn's disease patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inflammation is an essential immune response; however, chronic inflammation results in disease including Crohn's disease. Therefore, reducing the inflammation can yield a significant health benefit, and one way to achieve this is through diet. We developed a Mediterranean-inspired anti-inflammatory diet and used this diet in a 6-week intervention in a Crohn's disease population. We examined changes in inflammation and also in the gut microbiota. We compared the results of established biomarkers, C-reactive protein and the micronuclei assay, of inflammation with results from a transcriptomic approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data showed that being on our diet for 6 weeks was able to reduce the established biomarkers of inflammation. However, using transcriptomics, we observed significant changes in gene expression. Although no single gene stood out, the cumulative effect of small changes in many genes combined to have a beneficial effect. Data also showed that our diet resulted in a trend of normalising the microbiota.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that our Mediterranean-inspired diet appeared to benefit the health of people with Crohn's disease. Our participants showed a trend for reduced markers of inflammation and normalising of the microbiota. The significant changes in gene expression after 6 weeks highlighted the increased sensitivity of using transcriptomics when compared to the established biomarkers and open up a new era of dietary intervention studies.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Nutrition, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. l.ferguson@auckland.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Gareth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ellett
authors.forename: Isobel R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Shuotun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Nishi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karunasinghe
authors.forename: Amalini C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Jesuthasan
authors.forename: Dug Yeo
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Alan G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: Lynnette R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Ferguson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D004249:DNA Damage; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012313:RNA / Q000097:blood; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012313:RNA; D002097:C-Reactive Protein