JERUSALEM, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have developed a new method to map all the proteins secreted by the human body, revealing insights into health and disease, the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said in a statement on Monday.
The new study, published in Cell, identifies proteins from the microbiome, the human body, and food in stool samples, offering a detailed view of the intestines' role in health.
The method, named IPHOMED (Integrated Proteo-genomics of HOst, MicrobiomE and Diet), combines DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry to map microbiome activity and protein interactions with unprecedented accuracy, according to WIS.
It decodes which proteins come from which bacterial strains, and how human gut proteins respond to these signals. This helps explain the composition of the microbiome, influencing disease susceptibility.
This method also offers nutritional insights by identifying proteins from food, helping track a person's diet noninvasively.
In experiments, the method could identify 97 percent of proteins in stool samples, even pinpointing the consumption of as few as five peanuts.
This tool is valuable for understanding diets, including cases like celiac disease, where the method identified a child failing to follow a gluten-free diet.
The researchers applied the method to patients with inflammatory bowel disease, discovering new proteins as potential drug targets and identifying biomarkers to improve diagnosis and treatment.
Additionally, the method could map protein changes in the small intestine, aiding in the diagnosis of hard-to-detect diseases.
The researchers concluded that the method offers a powerful tool for personalized medical and nutritional interventions, particularly for microbiome-related disorders.
