Researchers at Pitt have developed the MicFly method which presents a promising advancement in the measurement of microbiota in the intestine at the single cell level. MicFly is accurate, rapid, and most importantly quantitative, making it a significant improvement over existing techniques, with potential for further development and applications in both basic and clinical use.
Description
The researchers introduce the MiCrobiome FLow cYtometry (MicFly) method as a solution to the critical need for a rapid, quantitative, and accurate measurement of the structure of the intestinal microbiota and the presence of specific bacteria in the context of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other GI diseases. The current methods based on sequencing are slow, too inaccurate and lack the ability to quantitate absolute numbers of bacteria.
Applications
• Intestinal microbiome analysis
• Inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis
• Inflammatory bowel disease intervention
• Infectious disease diagnosis
Advantages
The significance of MicFly in the context of IBD lies in its ability to accurately measure the microbiota at a single cell level and identify specific bacterial taxa. This is crucial in understanding the shifts in the intestinal microbiota associated with IBD. Other existing techniques, based upon DNA sequencing, have been less sensitive and not as accurate, making MicFly a significant improvement in the field. MicFly allows for concurrent measurement of bacterial identity and gene expression (mRNA or protein) at the single cell level rendering it a huge step forward in technology to measure the microbiome.
Invention Readiness
This technology is at the level of in vivo data. MicFly utilizes RNA Hybridization Chain Reaction technology to provide accurate, rapid, and quantitative single cell resolution of the microbiome. One of the novel features of MicFly is its ability to measure the transcriptome of bacteria within the microbiota, enabling the quantification of bacterial mRNA. This method is also flexible, enabling measurements at all taxonomic levels, from stain to phylum, and is compatible with surface staining of proteins on bacteria.
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2025076345A1
