REGULATION OF IMMUNE FUNCTION AND GASTROINTESTINAL HOMEOSTASIS BY NUTRIENTS: ESPECIALLY VITAMIN D.

Dietary recommendations for patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are largely based on avoidance of large groups of food that are associated with the worsening of symptoms. This avoidance is extremely difficult to maintain over time and leads to multiple micronutrient and sometimes macronutrient deficiencies. Understanding the mechanisms by which individual nutrients alter key microorganisms involved in exacerbating or modulating symptoms would allow us to identify a larger variety of foods and nutrients that can reshape the microbiota to improve symptoms in patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases. The possibility that simple supplementation with a nutrient like vitamin D could improve immune function would be a low cost benefit of interest in treating animals and humans. This research will have national and international impact. The findings from the proposed experiments will have an impact on controlling immune responses of humans and animals worldwide.