COHORTES-MICROBIOMES

• Overall objective:

Non-communicable diseases are responsible for 74% of deaths worldwide. Numerous studies in France and around the world indicate that lifestyle changes during industrialization have induced, and continue to induce, modifications to the human microbiome. These modifications are thought to favor the onset or development of diseases such as chronic inflammatory, neurodegenerative or psychiatric diseases, and may also contribute to treatment failure (cancer).

In this context, the COHORTES-MICROBIOMES project aims to characterize the human microbiome of cohorts [1] in the general population, or of patients, to contribute to a mapping of the microbiome of the French population. The project will benefit from infrastructures such as France Cohortes, Le French Gut project and university hospital centers.

[1] A cohort is a group of subjects or patients considered in a statistical study.

• Scientific and societal issues:

The scientific challenges are to accelerate the characterization of the human microbiome in France, in order to gain a precise understanding of the role of microbiomes in the onset or aggravation of chronic diseases, and to identify environmental or dietary factors that may protect or harm these microbiomes.

The societal challenges are to contribute to the development of medical practices and recommendations, and to the implementation of precision therapeutic or nutritional solutions, to support the decisions of public health agencies and the medical community.

• Project focuses:

Axis 1: Promote high-performance capabilities to support large-scale studies on the microbiome and contribute to the constitution of reference intestinal microbiomes at national level, at different ages of life;

Axis 2: Characterize human microbiomes from healthy or sick subjects in observational or interventional studies [2].

[2] In an observational study, scientists observe a population, a phenomenon, without intervening on the treatment followed. An interventional study (also known as a “clinical study”) involves direct intervention on participants (medical treatment, surgical intervention, etc.) and enables the effects of the intervention to be specified (efficacy, undesirable effects, etc.).