Who’s really in charge? The gut microbiome’s secret role in autoimmunity

This webinar delivered by Professor Palak Trivedi unpacked how understanding the gut microbiome could change the future of autoimmune disease treatment. Watch the recording below.

More than 100 years ago, Nobel Prize winning scientist Paul Ehrlich suggested that the immune system might sometimes attack the body itself — an idea that shocked people at the time. Today, we know this happens in autoimmune diseases, which affect about 4% of people in the world. This leads to conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune liver disease, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Our genes haven’t changed much in recent history, so what’s causing this increase? Many scientists now believe the answer lies in the gut microbiome — the trillions of bacteria and other microbes living in our digestive system. These tiny organisms help train and guide our immune system. Changes in the gut microbiome — caused by what we eat, where we live, and our environment— might throw the immune system off balance.

In this webinar, we discussed:

• How the gut microbiome and immune system communicate
• How these interactions contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases
• Possible ways to treat autoimmunity by targeting the gut microbiome

Catch up with the recording to discover how understanding the gut could change the future of autoimmune disease treatment — no science background required!

Our expert

This talk was delivered by Professor Palak Trivedi, Professor of Cholestatic and Immune-mediated Liver Disease at the University of Birmingham, Honorary Consultant Hepatologist, and clinician scientist at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre. 

This online talk is part of our free webinar series “Your health, our research: Short talks, big impact“