You could say this team of University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers is performing a gut check of sorts.

Unlock the mysteries of the digestive system, you see, and scientists could be well on their way toward developing new treatments for conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, bowel disorders and even food allergies.

UNL’s 12-member team — with scientists from across the university — comprise the Gut Function Initiative, a grant-funded effort that places UNL on the cutting edge of a research field the National Institutes of Health has deemed critical for the future.

Their mission: Characterize the trillions of tiny bacteria living in the human gastrointestinal tract, figuring out how they’re linked to certain diseases and, ultimately, how they can be treated to improve human health.

“These are diseases that are on the increase,” Andy Benson, a team member and professor of food science and technology, said of conditions on the rise in Western countries like obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

“They’re certainly costly in terms of quality of life, but they’re also a huge economic burden.”

Previously, scientists had no way to quantify GI tract bacteria.

New technology — like the half-million dollar device in Benson’s team’s lab that allows them to identify specific microorganisms — has changed that.

Humans begin life with a sterile GI tract. But through birth, environment and diet, the GI tract quickly becomes filled with bacteria, essentially making the tract a mini ecological system.

Some of the bacteria are beneficial, aiding digestion and strengthening the immune system.

But other “bad” bacteria, scientists recently have discovered, are linked to conditions like heart disease and obesity.

Whether those bacteria are hereditary or caused by the Western lifestyle — humans today get far less exercise and eat less fiber, more sugar and more fat than our predecessors — or some combination of the two, scientists don’t yet know, said Jens Walter, assistant professor of food science and technology.

“These diseases are really complex,” Walter said.

But research will yield more answers in the coming years, he said.

To that end, UNL is home to a new germ-free facility — one of only about 10 in the country — that allows Gut Function team members to breed mice in a sterile environment, thereby preventing any bacteria from forming in their GI tracts.

Scientists can then introduce specific bacteria, one by one, into a mouse’s GI tract, allowing them to understand exactly how each type of bacteria functions.

Such knowledge then should help researchers develop gut-targeted treatments for specific human diseases.

“The bacteria in your gut are clearly important for your health,” said Daniel Peterson, an assistant professor of food science and technology who works in the germ-free facility.

“But if there’s 500 species in there and you can’t control them, then you can never discover what one component is doing. We’re saying, ‘Let’s eliminate all the noise and look at one at a time.’”

One example of “gut research” already on the market: Yogurts infused with special bacteria, like Activia by Dannon, that claim to regulate digestion and ease constipation.

But yogurts don’t work for all people, Benson noted. And they can’t yet treat more serious conditions.

“But that’s the long-term goal of this: You want to come up with designer-type foods that are designed for certain individuals,” he said.

Possibilities for future treatments are numerous.

For instance, some patients struggle with weight gain or loss after taking antibiotics. If scientists understood what types of bacteria are associated with weight change, they could develop treatments that could be given to patients when they finish taking antibiotics, perhaps inhibiting or eradicating the “bad” bacteria and staving off weight gain or loss.

Another possibility: Some premature babies are born without a full small intestine, Peterson said, and transplants often fail because the baby’s body rejects the new intestine. That sets the baby up for vitamin deficiencies or malnutrition.

But a clearer understanding of certain bacteria’s relationship to the immune system could lead to treatments that would better prepare an infant’s body for a transplant.

Gut research also could lead to vaccines for Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, or supplements to treat food allergies, or a host of other treatments.

The field is fast-growing, Benson said, and UNL, with experts in food science, agriculture and biology and a supportive administration that Benson said helped the UNL team “get to the table early,” is well-positioned among the nation’s leaders.

The UNL team now is preparing to publish some of their research and is writing proposals for more grant money, Benson said.

The research, he said, holds huge promise for better understanding human health.

“It gives us a whole new way to think about treating diseases.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.