Chronic plaque psoriasis – a disease of the gut?

Psoriasis in an immune-mediated, inflammatory skin disease which affects around 2% of the global population. The disease is characterised by patches of inflamed, scaly and itchy skin and causes significant psychosocial detriment. Other conditions such as depression, arthritis and cardiovascular diseaseare associated with psoriasis. This suggests that psoriasis is not just a disease affecting the skin but is a systemic condition.

Humans have co-evolved with the bacteria living in and on the body (the microbiome), which outnumber eukaryotic cells by a factor of around 10. The gut is by far the most heavily colonised human organ with c 1012 bacterial cells per gram in the colon. Gut bacteria provide many benefits to humans, including protection against infection, synthesis of essential vitamins and modulation of immune responses. However, perhaps the most important role for gut bacteria is maintenance of the gut barrier. A leaky gut barrier has been associated with a number of inflammatory conditions. Likewise, disturbance of the intestinal microbiota has been associated with inflammatory diseases such as ankylosing spondyloarthritis and atopic dermatitis. Thus, one hypothesis is that an altered bacterial community leads to a leaky gut.

The project we investigate the hypothesis that disturbance of the gut microbial community leads to a leaky gut and hence the symptoms of psoriasis. We will also investigate whether modulation of the gut bacteria, with a probiotic intervention can alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis. This study will shed new light on the influence of the gut bacteria in a skin disease and may lead to new therapeutic interventions.

The university of Manchester Dermatology group is the most comprehensive psoriasis research group in the world with over 180 papers published in the last 10 years and excellent access to patients.

The successful candidate will work directly with patients and will collect blood samples to measure levels of circulating inflammatory markers using ELISA based techniques. Stool samples will also be collected for analysis of gut bacteria. Other techniques that may be used include PCR, immunoblotting, bio-informatics analyses.

Applicants should hold (or expect to obtain) a minimum upper-second honours degree (or equivalent) in biological sciences, preferable biochemistry or microbiology. A Masters qualification in a similar area would be a significant advantage.