The Gut Microbiome, Obesity, and Weight Control in Women’s Reproductive Health

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1094-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Leigh Greathouse ◽  
Mary Ann Faucher ◽  
Marie Hastings-Tolsma
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Energy Extraction ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity ◽  
Offspring Health ◽  
The Brain

The microbes residing in the human gut, referred to as the microbiome, are intricately linked to energy homeostasis and subsequently obesity. Integral to the origins of obesity, the microbiome is believed to affect not only health of the human gut but also overall health. This microbiome–obesity association is mediated through the process of energy extraction, metabolism, and cross talk between the brain and the gut microbiome. Host exposures, including diet, that potentially modify genetic predisposition to obesity and affect weight management are reviewed. The higher prevalence of obesity among women and recent evidence linking obesity during pregnancy with offspring health make this topic particularly relevant. Current limitations in microbiome research to address obesity and future advances in this field are described. Applications of this science with respect to applied nursing and overall health care in general are included, with emphasis on the reproductive health of women and their offspring.

Magnetotactic bacteria from the human gut microbiome associated with orientation and navigation regions of the brain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rozalyn A. Simon ◽  
Purnika Damindi Ranasinghe ◽  
Nawroz Barazanji ◽  
Malin Bergman Jungeström ◽  
Jie Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Magnetotactic Bacteria ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Next steps after 15 stimulating years of human gut microbiome research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Clavel ◽  
Hans‐Peter Horz ◽  
Nicola Segata ◽  
Maria Vehreschild
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Microbiome Research

scholarly journals Improving causality in microbiome research: can human genetic epidemiology help?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin H. Wade ◽  
Lindsay J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Inherited Disease ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Microbiome Research

Evidence supports associations between human gut microbiome variation and multiple health outcomes and diseases. Despite compelling results from in vivo and in vitro models, few findings have been translated into an understanding of modifiable causal relationships. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have been unconvincing in their ability to offer causal evidence due to their observational nature, where confounding by lifestyle and behavioural factors, reverse causation and bias are important limitations. Whilst randomized controlled trials have made steps towards understanding the causal role played by the gut microbiome in disease, they are expensive and time-consuming. This evidence that has not been translated between model systems impedes opportunities for harnessing the gut microbiome for improving population health. Therefore, there is a need for alternative approaches to interrogate causality in the context of gut microbiome research. The integration of human genetics within population health sciences have proved successful in facilitating improved causal inference (e.g., with Mendelian randomization [MR] studies) and characterising inherited disease susceptibility. MR is an established method that employs human genetic variation as natural “proxies” for clinically relevant (and ideally modifiable) traits to improve causality in observational associations between those traits and health outcomes. Here, we focus and discuss the utility of MR within the context of human gut microbiome research, review studies that have used this method and consider the strengths, limitations and challenges facing this research. Specifically, we highlight the requirements for careful examination and interpretation of derived causal estimates and host (i.e., human) genetic effects themselves, triangulation across multiple study designs and inter-disciplinary collaborations. Meeting these requirements will help support or challenge causality of the role played by the gut microbiome on human health to develop new, targeted therapies to alleviate disease symptoms to ultimately improve lives and promote good health.

scholarly journals The Human Gut Phageome: Origins and Roles in the Human Gut Microbiome

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor M. Townsend ◽  
Lucy Kelly ◽  
George Muscatt ◽  
Joshua D. Box ◽  
Nicole Hargraves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Microbial Populations ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Over Time

The investigation of the microbial populations of the human body, known as the microbiome, has led to a revolutionary field of science, and understanding of its impacts on human development and health. The majority of microbiome research to date has focussed on bacteria and other kingdoms of life, such as fungi. Trailing behind these is the interrogation of the gut viruses, specifically the phageome. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacterial hosts, are known to dictate the dynamics and diversity of bacterial populations in a number of ecosystems. However, the phageome of the human gut, while of apparent importance, remains an area of many unknowns. In this paper we discuss the role of bacteriophages within the human gut microbiome. We examine the methods used to study bacteriophage populations, how this evolved over time and what we now understand about the phageome. We review the phageome development in infancy, and factors that may influence phage populations in adult life. The role and action of the phageome is then discussed at both a biological-level, and in the broader context of human health and disease.

scholarly journals Improving causality in microbiome research: can human genetic epidemiology help?

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin H. Wade ◽  
Lindsay J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Inherited Disease ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Microbiome Research

Evidence supports associations between human gut microbiome variation and multiple health outcomes and diseases. Despite compelling results from in vivo and in vitro models, few findings have been translated into an understanding of modifiable causal relationships. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have been unconvincing in their ability to offer causal evidence due to their observational nature, where confounding by lifestyle and behavioural factors, reverse causation and bias are important limitations. Whilst randomized controlled trials have made steps towards understanding the causal role played by the gut microbiome in disease, they are expensive and time-consuming. This evidence that has not been translated between model systems impedes opportunities for harnessing the gut microbiome for improving population health. Therefore, there is a need for alternative approaches to interrogate causality in the context of gut microbiome research. The integration of human genetics within population health sciences have proved successful in facilitating improved causal inference (e.g., with Mendelian randomization [MR] studies) and characterising inherited disease susceptibility. MR is an established method that employs human genetic variation as natural “proxies” for clinically relevant (and ideally modifiable) traits to improve causality in observational associations between those traits and health outcomes. Here, we focus and discuss the utility of MR within the context of human gut microbiome research, review studies that have used this method and consider the strengths, limitations and challenges facing this research. Specifically, we highlight the requirements for careful examination and interpretation of derived causal estimates and host (i.e., human) genetic effects themselves, triangulation across multiple study designs and inter-disciplinary collaborations. Meeting these requirements will help support or challenge causality of the role played by the gut microbiome on human health to develop new, targeted therapies to alleviate disease symptoms to ultimately improve lives and promote good health.

scholarly journals Improving causality in microbiome research: can human genetic epidemiology help?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Kaitlin H. Wade ◽  
Lindsay J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Research Review ◽  
Inherited Disease ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Microbiome Research

Evidence supports associations between human gut microbiome variation and multiple health outcomes and diseases. Despite compelling results from in vivo and in vitro models, few findings have been translated into an understanding of modifiable causal relationships. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have been unconvincing in their ability to offer causal evidence due to their observational nature, where confounding by lifestyle and behavioural factors, reverse causation and bias are important limitations. Whilst randomized controlled trials have made steps towards understanding the causal role played by the gut microbiome in disease, they are expensive and time-consuming. This evidence that has not been translated between model systems impedes opportunities for harnessing the gut microbiome for improving population health. Therefore, there is a need for alternative approaches to interrogate causality in the context of gut microbiome research. The integration of human genetics within population health sciences have proved successful in facilitating improved causal inference (e.g., with Mendelian randomization [MR] studies) and characterising inherited disease susceptibility. MR is an established method that employs human genetic variation as natural “proxies” for clinically relevant (and ideally modifiable) traits to improve causality in observational associations between those traits and health outcomes. Here, we focus and discuss the utility of MR within the context of human gut microbiome research, review studies that have used this method and consider the strengths, limitations and challenges facing this research. Specifically, we highlight the requirements for careful examination and interpretation of derived causal estimates and host (i.e., human) genetic effects themselves, triangulation across multiple study designs and inter-disciplinary collaborations. Meeting these requirements will help support or challenge causality of the role played by the gut microbiome on human health to develop new, targeted therapies to alleviate disease symptoms to ultimately improve lives and promote good health.

scholarly journals The Application of High-Throughput Technologies for the Study of Microbiome and Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Qi Wei ◽  
Io Hong Cheong ◽  
Guang Huan Yang ◽  
Xiao Guang Li ◽  
Zisis Kozlakidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Microbiome Diversity ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Cancer Types ◽  
Functional Analyses

Human gut microbiome research, especially gut microbiome, has been developing at a considerable pace over the last decades, driven by a rapid technological advancement. The emergence of high-throughput technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics, and others, has afforded the generation of large volumes of data, and in relation to specific pathologies such as different cancer types. The current review identifies high-throughput technologies as they have been implemented in the study of microbiome and cancer. Four main thematic areas have emerged: the characterization of microbial diversity and composition, microbial functional analyses, biomarker prediction, and, lastly, potential therapeutic applications. The majority of studies identified focus on the microbiome diversity characterization, which is reaching technological maturity, while the remaining three thematic areas could be described as emerging.

scholarly journals Microbial evolution and ecological opportunity in the gut environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1915) ◽  
pp. 20191964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline D. Scanlan
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Experimental Evolution ◽  
Microbial Evolution ◽  
Microbial Populations ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Ecological Opportunity ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Individual Human

Recent genomic and metagenomic studies have highlighted the presence of rapidly evolving microbial populations in the human gut. However, despite the fundamental implications of this intuitive finding for both basic and applied gut microbiome research, very little is known about the mode, tempo and potential functional consequences of microbial evolution in the guts of individual human hosts over a lifetime. Here I assess the potential relevance of ecological opportunity to bacterial adaptation, colonization and persistence in the neonate and germ-free mammalian gut environment as well as over the course of an individual lifetime using data emerging from mouse models as well as human studies to provide examples where possible. I then briefly outline how the continued development and application of experimental evolution approaches coupled to genomic and metagenomic analysis is essential to disentangling drift from selection and identifying specific drivers of evolution in the gut microbiome within and between individual human hosts and populations.

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