scholarly journals Analysis of the fungal, archaeal and bacteriophage diversity in the human distal gut

SURG Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
Eric Brown ◽  
Emma Allen-Vercoe
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Healthy Donors ◽  
Core Set ◽  
Fungal Populations ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

The composition and role of bacteria in the human gut has been studied intensely and is a burgeoning field of scientific research. However, there is a relative lack of research on other microorganisms which compose our gut flora such as bacteriophage, archaea and fungi. The aim of our study was to begin to fill this gap. The archaeal, fungal and bacteriophage diversity in the gut was analyzed using a PCR-DGGE fingerprinting method on fecal samples from 3 healthy donors. These samples were inoculated into chemostats and the microbes were grown in continuous culture to model the interactions of our flora in vitro. Norepinephrine was also added to the chemostats to test the microbial community’s reaction to stress. Here we report that, relative to bacteria, fungal and archaeal diversity in the gut is low. The archaeal populations seemed stable over time varied depending on the individual. Fungal populations were more variable over time and changes in the community structure were observed after the addition of norepinephrine. DNA sequence analysis confirmed the presence of fungal species that are not yet cultured, yet are residents of the gut. Species of Podophage can also be detected as residents of the gut based on sequence analysis. It is clear that there is a core set of archaeal and fungal species living as residents in the gut. Bacteriophage are also present but their ecological role and effect on the microbial community in the gut is unknown.

Gut Mycobiota and Fungal Metabolites in Human Homeostasis

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabella Mogilnicka ◽  
Marcin Ufnal
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
Fungal Metabolites ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Fecal Transplantation ◽  
Bacterial Microbiota ◽  
Bowel Diseases ◽  
Inflammatory Bowel

Background:Accumulating evidence suggests that microbiota play an important role in host’s homeostasis. Thus far, researchers have mostly focused on the role of bacterial microbiota. However, human gut is a habitat for several fungal species, which produce numerous metabolites. Furthermore, various types of food and beverages are rich in a wide spectrum of fungi and their metabolites.Methods:We searched PUBMED and Google Scholar databases to identify clinical and pre-clinical studies on fungal metabolites, composition of human mycobiota and fungal dysbiosis.Results:Fungal metabolites may serve as signaling molecules and exert significant biological effects including trophic, anti-inflammatory or antibacterial actions. Finally, research suggests an association between shifts in gut fungi composition and human health. Changes in mycobiota composition have been found in obesity, hepatitis and inflammatory bowel diseases.Conclusion:The influence of mycobiota and dietary fungi on homeostasis in mammals suggests a pharmacotherapeutic potential of modulating the mycobiota which may include treatment with probiotics and fecal transplantation. Furthermore, antibacterial action of fungi-derived molecules may be considered as a substitution for currently used antibacterial agents and preservatives in food industry.

scholarly journals An acute bleomycin inflammatory and fibrotic mouse model of morphea is dependent upon CXCL9 and CXCR3

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian M. Richmond ◽  
Dhrumil Patel ◽  
Tomoya Watanabe ◽  
Colton J. Garelli ◽  
Madhuri Garg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Model ◽  
Localized Scleroderma ◽  
Lesional Skin ◽  
Chemokine Expression ◽  
Inflammatory Phase ◽  
Deficient Mice ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Cutaneous Fibrosis

AbstractMorphea, or localized scleroderma, is characterized by an inflammatory phase followed by cutaneous fibrosis, which may lead to disfigurement and/or disability. Previous work from our group showed that the CXCR3 ligands CXCL9 and CXCL10 are highly upregulated in lesional skin of morphea patients. Here, we used an acute inflammatory and fibrotic bleomycin mouse model of morphea to examine the role of the CXCR3 chemokine axis in pathogenesis. We first characterized which cells produce the CXCR3 ligands in the skin using the Reporter of Expression of CXCR3 ligands mouse (REX3). We found that fibroblasts contribute the bulk of CXCL9 and CXCL10, whereas endothelial cells are key dual chemokine producers. Macrophages, which have high MFI of chemokine expression, upregulated CXCL9 production over time, fibroblasts CXCL10 production, and T cells dual chemokine expression. To determine whether bleomycin treatment could directly induce expression of these chemokines, we treated cultured REX3 mouse dermis monolayers in vitro with bleomycin or IFNγ with TNF and found that bleomycin could induce low amounts of CXCL9 directly in fibroblasts, whereas the cytokines were required for optimal CXCL9 and CXCL10 production. To determine whether these chemokines are mechanistically involved in pathogenesis, we induced fibrosis in CXCL9, CXCL10, or CXCR3 deficient mice and found that fibrosis is dependent on CXCL9 and CXCR3. Addition of recombinant CXCL9, but not CXCL10, to cultured mouse fibroblasts induces collagen 1a1 mRNA expression, indicating the chemokine itself can contribute to fibrosis. Taken together, our studies provide evidence that acute intradermal bleomycin administration in mice can model inflammatory morphea, and that CXCL9 and its receptor CXCR3 are mechanistically involved in pathogenesis.One Sentence SummaryCXCL9 drives acute morphea pathogenesis in mice.

scholarly journals High CD169 Monocyte/Lymphocyte Ratio Reflects the Immunophenotyping Disruption and Predicts Oxygen Need in COVID-19 Patients

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella Minutolo ◽  
Vita Petrone ◽  
Marialaura Fanelli ◽  
Marco Iannetta ◽  
Martina Giudice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Progression ◽  
Inflammatory Markers ◽  
Predictive Marker ◽  
Pulmonary Involvement ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Healthy Donors ◽  
Respiratory Outcome ◽  
Early Biomarker

Background: CD169 has been found overexpressed in the blood of COVID-19 patients and identified as a biomarker in the early disease. We have analysed CD169 in blood cells of COVID-19 patients to assess its role as predictive marker of the disease. Methods : The ratio of the CD169 Median median Fluorescence fluorescence Intensity intensity of CD169 between monocytes and lymphocytes (CD169 RMFI ) was analysed by flow cytometry in blood samples of COVID-19 patients (COV) and healthy donors (HD ) and correlated with immunophenotyping, inflammatory markers, cytokines mRNA expression, pulmonary involvement and disease progression. Results: CD169 RMFI increased in COV but not in HD. CD169 RMFI correlated with T-cell differentiation and exhaustion markers as well as with B cells maturation and differentiation. In vitro stimulation of PBMCs of HD with SARS-CoV-2 Spike spike protein induced CD169 RMFI together with IL-6 and IL-10 gene expression. Likewise, CD169 RMFI correlated with blood cytokine mRNA levels, inflammatory markers, and pneumonia severity in patients which that had not received any treatment at sampling. Notably, in untreated patients, CD169 RMFI reflected the respiratory outcome during hospitalization. Conclusion : Considering the immunological role of CD169 and its involvement during the infection and the progression of COVID-19, it could be considered as an early biomarker to evaluate disease progression and clinical outcome.

scholarly journals Endospores and other lysis-resistant bacteria comprise a widely shared core community within the human microbiota

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean M. Kearney ◽  
Sean M. Gibbons ◽  
Mathilde Poyet ◽  
Thomas Gurry ◽  
Kevin Bullock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Fatty Acids ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Environmental Signals ◽  
Human Microbiota ◽  
Disease States ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Over Time

AbstractEndospore-formers in the human microbiota are well adapted for host-to-host transmission, and an emerging consensus points to their role in determining health and disease states in the gut. The human gut, more than any other environment, encourages the maintenance of endospore formation, with recent culture-based work suggesting that over 50% of genera in the microbiome carry genes attributed to this trait. However, there has been limited work on the ecological role of endospores and other stress-resistant cellular states in the human gut. In fact, there is no data to indicate whether organisms with the genetic potential to form endospores actually form endosporesin situand how sporulation varies across individuals and over time. Here, we applied a culture-independent protocol to enrich for endospores and other stress-resistant cells in human feces to identify variation in these states across people and within an individual over time. We see that cells with resistant states are more likely than those without to be shared among multiple individuals, which suggests that these resistant states are particularly adapted for cross-host dissemination. Furthermore, we use untargeted fecal metabolomics in 24 individuals and within a person over time to show that these organisms respond to shared environmental signals, and in particular, dietary fatty acids, that likely mediate colonization of recently disturbed human guts.

Effect of Ginkgo biloba extract on rat hepatic microsomal CYP1A activity: role of ginkgolides, bilobalide, and flavonols

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
I fan Kuo ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Thomas K.H Chang
Keyword(s):  
Ginkgo Biloba ◽  
Ginkgo Biloba Extract ◽  
Inhibitory Potency ◽  
Hepatic Microsomes ◽  
Cyp1a Activity ◽  
Ginkgo Biloba Extracts ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Vitro Effect

The present study investigated the in vitro effect of Ginkgo biloba extracts and some of the individual constituents (ginkgolides, bilobalide, and flavonols such as kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and their glycosides) on CYP1A-mediated 7-ethoxyresorufin O-dealkylation in hepatic microsomes isolated from rats induced with β-naphthoflavone. G. biloba extract competitively inhibited CYP1A activity, with an apparent Ki value of 1.6 ± 0.4 µg/mL (mean ± SE). At the concentrations present in the G. biloba extracts, ginkgolides A, B, C, and J and bilobalide did not affect CYP1A activity, whereas kaempferol (IC50 = 0.006 ± 0.001 µg/mL, mean ± SE), isorhamnetin (0.007 ± 0.001 µg/mL), and quercetin (0.050 ± 0.003 µg/mL) decreased this activity. The monoglycosides (1 and 10 µg/mL) and diglycosides (10 µg/mL) of kaempferol and quercetin but not those of isorhamnetin also inhibited CYP1A activity. The order of inhibitory potency was kaempferol ~ isorhamnetin > quercetin, and for each of these flavonols the order of potency was aglycone >> monoglycoside > diglycoside. In summary, G. biloba extract competitively inhibited rat hepatic microsomal CYP1A activity, but the effect was not due to ginkgolides A, B, C, or J, bilobalide, kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, or the respective flavonol monoglycosides or diglycosides.Key words: bilobalide, CYP1A, cytochrome P450, Ginkgo biloba, ginkgolide, flavonol.

Confession, conscience, and selfhood on trial

2018 ◽  
pp. 124-177
Author(s):  
Laura Kounine
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
The Self ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Linear Pattern ◽  
Moral Question ◽  
Modern Self ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Self ◽  
Over Time

This chapter deals with the role of the self and conscience in defending oneself against the charge of witchcraft. To add depth to intellectual concepts—and teleologies—of the self, we must understand how the individual self was understood, felt, and experienced. Particularly for the crime of witchcraft, the crux of the trial was premised on the moral question of what kind of person would commit such a crime. Those on trial for witchcraft in the Lutheran duchy of Württemberg invoked the idioms of ‘mind’, ‘conscience’, ‘heart’, or ‘self’ in constructing their defence. Through four case studies, ranging from 1565 to 1678, this chapter examines the different ways in which people could conceptualize their person, and shows that change over time in the ‘development’ of the modern self was not a uniform or directly linear pattern.

scholarly journals Serum from Varicose Patients Induces Senescence-Related Dysfunction of Vascular Endothelium Generating Local and Systemic Proinflammatory Conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Mikuła-Pietrasik ◽  
Paweł Uruski ◽  
Krzysztof Aniukiewicz ◽  
Patrycja Sosińska ◽  
Zbigniew Krasiński ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Vascular Endothelium ◽  
Varicose Veins ◽  
Neutralizing Antibody ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Healthy Donors ◽  
Pai 1

Although the role of endothelium in varicose vein development is indisputable, the effect of the pathology on biological properties of endothelial cells remains unclear. Here we examined if the presence of varicose veins affects senescence of endothelial cells (HUVECs) and, if so, what will be the local and systemic outcome of this effect. Experiments showed that HUVECs subjected to serum from varicose patients display improved proliferation, increased expression of senescence marker, SA-β-Gal, and increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as compared with serum from healthy donors. Both increased SA-β-Gal activity and ROS release were mediated by TGF-β1, the concentration of which in varicose serum was elevated and the activity of which in vitro was prevented using specific neutralizing antibody. Senescent HUVECs exposed to varicose serum generated increased amounts of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, P-selectin, uPA, PAI-1, and ET-1. Direct comparison of sera from varicose and healthy donors showed that pathological serum contained increased level of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, P-selectin, uPA, and ET-1. Calendar age of healthy subjects correlated positively with serum uPA and negatively with P-selectin. Age of varicose patients correlated positively with ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and ET-1. Collectively, our findings indicate that the presence of varicose veins causes a senescence-related dysfunction of vascular endothelium, which leads to the development of local and systemic proinflammatory environment.

Differential Roles of NMDA Receptor Subtypes NR2A and NR2B in Dendritic Branch Development and Requirement of RasGRF1

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 1758-1770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando J. Sepulveda ◽  
Fernando J. Bustos ◽  
Eveling Inostroza ◽  
Felipe A. Zúñiga ◽  
Rachael L. Neve ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Receptor Subtypes ◽  
Dendritic Branch ◽  
Spinal Cord Neurons ◽  
Whole Cell Patch Clamp ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Branch Formation ◽  
The Individual

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are known to regulate axonal refinement and dendritic branching. However, because NMDARs are abundantly present as tri-heteromers (e.g., NR1/NR2A/NR2B) during development, the precise role of the individual subunits NR2A and NR2B in these processes has not been elucidated. Ventral spinal cord neurons (VSCNs) provide a unique opportunity to address this problem, because the expression of both NR2A and NR2B (but not NR1) is downregulated in culture. Exogenous NR2A or NR2B were introduced into these naturally NR2-null neurons at 4 DIV, and electrophysiological recordings at 11 DIV confirmed that synaptic NR1NR2A receptors and NR1NR2B receptors were formed, respectively. Analysis of the dendritic architecture showed that introduction of NR2B, but not NR2A, dramatically increased the number of secondary and tertiary dendritic branches of VSCNs. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings further indicated that the newly formed branches in NR2B-expressing neurons were able to establish functional synapses because the frequency of miniature AMPA-receptor synaptic currents was increased. Using previously described mutants, we also found that disruption of the interaction between NR2B and RasGRF1 dramatically impaired dendritic branch formation in VSCNs. The differential role of the NR2A and NR2B subunits and the requirement for RasGRF1 in regulating branch formation was corroborated in hippocampal cultures. We conclude that the association between NR1NR2B-receptors and RasGRF1 is needed for dendritic branch formation in VSCNs and hippocampal neurons in vitro. The dominated NR2A expression and the limited interactions of this subunit with the signaling protein RasGRF1 may contribute to the restricted dendritic arbor development in the adult CNS.

scholarly journals Different Substrate Preferences Help Closely Related Bacteria To Coexist in the Gut

mBio ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Louis
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Substrate Preferences ◽  
Pure Cultures ◽  
Bacteroides Ovatus ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Nutrient Profiles ◽  
Polysaccharide Utilization Loci ◽  
Complex Glycan ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACT Many factors shape the ability of different microbes to coexist in microbial communities. In the human gut, dietary and host-derived nutrients largely drive microbial community structure. How gut microbes with very similar nutrient profiles are able to coexist over time within the same host is not fully understood. Tuncil et al. (mBio 8:e01068-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01068-17 !) explored glycan prioritization in two closely related human gut bacteria, Bacteroides ovatus and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, on complex glycan mixtures that both organisms can degrade. Determining depletion of the individual glycans over time in pure cultures and cocultures revealed that the bacteria seem to have hardwired differences in their preferences for different glycans which likely contribute to their stable coexistence. The researchers also established that gene expression changes of the corresponding polysaccharide utilization loci did not always mirror glycan depletion, which highlights that additional regulatory mechanisms must be present.

Challenges in simulating the human gut for understanding the role of the microbiota in obesity

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Aguirre ◽  
K. Venema
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Colonic Fermentation ◽  
Physiological Relevance ◽  
In Vitro Simulation ◽  
In Vitro Systems ◽  
Specific Standard ◽  
Obese Subjects

There is an elevated incidence of cases of obesity worldwide. Therefore, the development of strategies to tackle this condition is of vital importance. This review focuses on the necessity of optimising in vitro systems to model human colonic fermentation in obese subjects. This may allow to increase the resolution and the physiological relevance of the information obtained from this type of studies when evaluating the potential role that the human gut microbiota plays in obesity. In light of the parameters that are currently used for the in vitro simulation of the human gut (which are mostly based on information derived from healthy subjects) and the possible difference with an obese condition, we propose to revise and improve specific standard operating procedures.

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