Save the microbes!

This The article I read was about how when mice get sick, they produce a substance called L-flucose; a sugar that has been shown to affect gut microbiota. This is significant because there was a study done to see if L-flucose had an effect on the mice's health. First the mice were exposed to a organism that mimicked systemic infection, and when the mice started to show signs of being sick, such as not eating or drinking, (which is a way for the mice to prevent the pathogen from getting nutrients.) it was found that every inch of the lower intestine was covered in L-flucose, and that this only happened during systemic infections. They then performed the same experiment on genetically altered mice that lacked the gene to produce L-flucose, in those mice it was found that the mice regained weight and recovered much slower than there L-flucose producing counterparts. This shows that L-flucose is the body's way of protecting our helpful microbiota while we ourselves are battling infection, while at the same time preventing ourselves from being exposed to even more harmful pathogens. We humans also produce the same substance when experiencing systemic infection, and 20% lack the gene to produce it, and this lack of ability has been linked to Chrons's disease. These experiments will help start more to try and figure out how to treat Chron's disease. I'm wondering whether or not treatment for Chron's will be a sort of gene therapy or maybe even a way to administer L-flucose directly to people's lower intestines.