The Capscan capsule can open a valve at specific points in the digestive system to collect fluids and metabolites. The technology enables the first study comparing the small intestine and colon in healthy people. Credit: Envivo Bio, Inc.
Key points:
- Researchers can now take a closer look inside the digestive tract via a specially designed capsule.
- The team looked at the variation in upper intestinal contents during daily digestion in 15 healthy people.
- The device can help uncover the roles of the gut microbiome and metabolome in human disease.
A new digestible capsule allows researchers to see and analyze—for the first time—the small intestine and colon of healthy individuals.
“This capsule and reports are the first of their kind,” said study author Oliver Fiehn, director of the West Coast Metabolomics Center at UC Davis. “All other studies on human gut microbiota focused on stool as a surrogate for colon metabolism. However, the fact is that 90% of human digestion happens in the upper intestine, not the colon.”
The specially designed capsule is swallowed, where it collects a small volume of biofluids and microorganisms on the way from the upper intestine to the colon until it is recovered in stool. By using a pH-sensitive coating on the capsule, the researchers could choose which area of the intestinal tract to sample.
For the study, published in Nature and Nature Metabolism, the research team examined the upper intestinal contents during normal daily digestion in 15 healthy people. They used a multiomics approach to analyze the samples for bacteria, viruses, host proteins and metabolites from food. According to the study, the upper intestine and stool differed in all these areas— sometimes dramatically.
Through the findings, the team identified nearly 2,000 metabolites, and also found associations between diet and metabolites.
The researchers said two individuals who had taken antibiotics in the previous six months showed large variations in levels of bioactive fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAFHAs) and sulfonolipids, metabolites that are thought to be associated with preventing inflammation and diabetes. A species of bacteria, Blautia, was identified as most involved in fatty acid metabolism.
“Overall, this device can help elucidate the roles of the gut microbiome and metabolome in human physiology and disease,” said Fiehn.