Department of Physiology, and Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine


Within our intestinal tract there are hundreds of millions of bacteria, which in healthy individuals are restricted to the lumen of the intestine by the mucosal barrier. However, if this barrier is compromised and bacteria can cross it in great numbers, a number of inflammatory diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Coeliac disease, Diabetes Mellitus Type I and Ankylosing Spondylitis can result. For example, in patients suffering from Crohn’s disease the structural barrier or “wall” formed by the intestinal lining is “leaky’, which allows bacteria to enter the body. This results in uncontrolled exposure of the intestinal immune system to the bacteria normally restricted to the intestinal lumen, the development of an aggressive immune response, inflammation of the intestine and further damage to the intestinal barrier.

Interestingly, there is clear evidence that probiotic bacteria can modulate the properties of the mucosal barrier. Again using Crohn’s disease as an example, in animal models of this disease, probiotic bacteria repair the intestinal lining so that it is no longer leaky.

The overall objective of our studies is to understand the underlying pathomechanisms of increased intestinal permeability and to unravel similarities and disparities of the role of increased intestinal permeability in the different diseases. This will provide us with the background to investigate how probiotic bacteria moduate the properties of the intestinal barrier.

These projects are a collaborative effort of the Department of Physiology and the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine

For more information please contact:

Michael Schultz

Senior Lecturer and Gastroenterologist
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences
University of Otago Medical School
michael.schultz@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

A. Grant Butt

Senior Lecturer
Department of Physiology
University of Otago
grant.butt@stonebow.otago.ac.nz