scholarly journals Microbiota in Pancreatic Diseases: A Review of the Literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 5920
Author(s):  
Tommaso Schepis ◽  
Sara S. De Lucia ◽  
Enrico C. Nista ◽  
Vittoria Manilla ◽  
Giulia Pignataro ◽  
...  

The gut microbiota is a critical element in the balance between human health and disease. Its impairment, defined as dysbiosis, is associated with gastroenterological and systemic diseases. Pancreatic secretions are involved in the composition and changes of the gut microbiota, and the gut microbiota may colonize the pancreatic parenchyma and be associated with the occurrence of diseases. The gut microbiota and the pancreas influence each other, resulting in a “gut microbiota-pancreas axis”. Moreover, the gut microbiota may be involved in pancreatic diseases, both through direct bacterial colonization and an indirect effect of small molecules and toxins derived from dysbiosis. Pancreatic diseases such as acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, autoimmune pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer are common gastroenterological diseases associated with high morbidity and mortality. The involvement of the microbiota in pancreatic diseases is increasingly recognized. Therefore, modifying the intestinal bacterial flora could have important therapeutic implications on these pathologies. The aim of this study is to review the literature to evaluate the alterations of the gut microbiota in pancreatic diseases, and the role of the microbiota in the treatment of these diseases.

Author(s):  
Kevin Horgan ◽  
Fergus Shanahan ◽  
Paul W. O’Toole

The concept that the commensal gut microbiota might influence the ageing process is not new. Awareness of the gastrointestinal microbiota and its potential role in host health was recognized in the late nineteenth century. Metchnikoff was a proponent of the value of fermented foods in promoting healthy ageing and proposed that the beneficial effect was a consequence of modulation of the resident colonic bacterial ‘flora’. His conviction could not be substantiated because of the lack of tools necessary to address the issue rigorously in that era. A century later, advanced technology has established the role of the human microbiota in health and disease. Emerging information is leading to a fundamentally revised understanding of many aspects of human development and disease that takes into account the role of the microbiota. This chapter addresses current knowledge of the relationship of the microbiome to human ageing, and outlines the prospects for monitoring and modulating the gut microbiota to promote healthy ageing.


2022 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangyue Li ◽  
Georgios Kararigas

There has been a recent, unprecedented interest in the role of gut microbiota in host health and disease. Technological advances have dramatically expanded our knowledge of the gut microbiome. Increasing evidence has indicated a strong link between gut microbiota and the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In the present article, we discuss the contribution of gut microbiota in the development and progression of CVD. We further discuss how the gut microbiome may differ between the sexes and how it may be influenced by sex hormones. We put forward that regulation of microbial composition and function by sex might lead to sex-biased disease susceptibility, thereby offering a mechanistic insight into sex differences in CVD. A better understanding of this could identify novel targets, ultimately contributing to the development of innovative preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for men and women.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (03) ◽  
pp. 192-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Chen

AbstractThere is increasing evidence that the gut microbiome, which consists of trillions of microbes representing over 1,000 species of bacteria with over 3 million genes, significantly impacts intestinal health and disease. The gut microbiota not only is capable of promoting intestinal homeostasis and antitumor responses but can also contribute to chronic dysregulated inflammation as well as have genotoxic effects that lead to carcinogenesis. Whether the gut microbiota maintains health or promotes colon cancer may ultimately depend on the composition of the gut microbiome and the balance within the microbial community of protective and detrimental bacterial populations. Disturbances in the normal balanced state of a healthful microbiome, known as dysbiosis, have been observed in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC); however, whether these alterations precede and cause CRC remains to be determined. Nonetheless, studies in mice strongly suggest that the gut microbiota can modulate susceptibility to CRC, and therefore may serve as both biomarkers and therapeutic targets.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Kešnerová ◽  
Olivier Emery ◽  
Michaël Troilo ◽  
Joanito Liberti ◽  
Berra Erkosar ◽  
...  

AbstractAdult honey bees harbor a specialized gut microbiota of relatively low complexity. While seasonal differences in community composition have been reported, previous studies have focused on compositional changes rather than differences in absolute bacterial loads. Moreover, little is known about the gut microbiota of winter bees, which live much longer than bees during the foraging season, and which are critical for colony survival. We quantified seven core members of the bee gut microbiota in a single colony over two years and characterized the community composition in 14 colonies during summer and winter. Our data shows that total bacterial loads substantially differ between foragers, nurses, and winter bees. Long-lived winter bees had the highest bacterial loads and the lowest community α-diversity, with a characteristic shift towards high levels of Bartonella and Commensalibacter, and a reduction of opportunistic colonizers. Using gnotobiotic bee experiments, we show that diet is a major contributor to the observed differences in bacterial loads. Overall, our study reveals that the gut microbiota of winter bees is remarkably different from foragers and nurses. Considering the importance of winter bees for colony survival, future work should focus on the role of the gut microbiota in winter bee health and disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenyu Li ◽  
Xiaorong Deng ◽  
Tingtao Chen

In the recent decade, gut microbiota has received growing interest due to its role in human health and disease. On the one hand, by utilizing the signaling pathways of the host and interacting with the immune system, the gut microbiota is able to maintain the homeostasis in human body. This important role is mainly modulated by the composition of microbiota, as a normal microbiota composition is responsible for maintaining the homeostasis of human body, while an altered microbiota profile could contribute to several pathogenic conditions and may further lead to oncogenesis and tumor progression. Moreover, recent insights have especially focused on the important role of gut microbiota in current anticancer therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery. Research findings have indicated a bidirectional interplay between gut microbiota and these therapeutic methods, in which the implementation of different therapeutic methods could lead to different alterations in gut microbiota, and the presence of gut microbiota could in turn contribute to different therapeutic responses. As a result, manipulating the gut microbiota to reduce the therapy-induced toxicity may provide an adjuvant therapy to achieve a better therapeutic outcome. Given the complex role of gut microbiota in cancer treatment, this review summarizes the interactions between gut microbiota and anticancer therapies, and demonstrates the current strategies for reshaping gut microbiota community, aiming to provide possibilities for finding an alternative approach to lower the damage and improve the efficacy of cancer therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Luca ◽  
Maurizio Di Mauro ◽  
Marco Di Mauro ◽  
Antonina Luca

Gut microbiota consists of over 100 trillion microorganisms including at least 1000 different species of bacteria and is crucially involved in physiological and pathophysiological processes occurring in the host. An imbalanced gastrointestinal ecosystem (dysbiosis) seems to be a contributor to the development and maintenance of several diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Interestingly, the three disorders are frequently associated as demonstrated by the high comorbidity rates. In this review, we introduce gut microbiota and its role in both normal and pathological processes; then, we discuss the importance of the gut-brain axis as well as the role of oxidative stress and inflammation as mediators of the pathological processes in which dysbiosis is involved. Specific sections pertain the role of the altered gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The therapeutic implications of microbiota manipulation are briefly discussed. Finally, a conclusion comments on the possible role of dysbiosis as a common pathogenetic contributor (via oxidative stress and inflammation) shared by the three disorders.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Zhao ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
Zhilong Liu ◽  
Youhua Xu

: With the recognition of the important role of gut microbiota in both health and disease progression, attempts to modulate its composition as well as its co-metabolism with the organism have attracted special attention. Abundant studies have demonstrated that dysfunction or imbalance of gut microbiota is closely with disease including endocrine diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, tumors, cardiovascular diseases, et al. Herbal medicines have been applied for preventing and treating disease worldwide for hundreds of years. Although the underlying mechanism seems to be complex, one of the important one is through modulating gut microbiota. In this review, co-metabolism between herbal medicines and microbiota, as well as the potential pathways are summarized from most recent published papers.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Caetano M. Antunes ◽  
Julie A. K. McDonald ◽  
Kathleen Schroeter ◽  
Christian Carlucci ◽  
Rosana B. R. Ferreira ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe mammalian gut contains a complex assembly of commensal microbes termed microbiota. Although much has been learned about the role of these microbes in health, the mechanisms underlying these functions are ill defined. We have recently shown that the mammalian gut contains thousands of small molecules, most of which are currently unidentified. Therefore, we hypothesized that these molecules function as chemical cues used by hosts and microbes during their interactions in health and disease. Thus, a search was initiated to identify molecules produced by the microbiota that are sensed by pathogens. We found that a secreted molecule produced by clostridia acts as a strong repressor ofSalmonellavirulence, obliterating expression of theSalmonellapathogenicity island 1 as well as host cell invasion. It has been known for decades that the microbiota protects its hosts from invading pathogens, and these data suggest that chemical sensing may be involved in this phenomenon. Further investigations should reveal the exact biological role of this molecule as well as its therapeutic potential.IMPORTANCEMicrobes can communicate through the production and sensing of small molecules. Within the complex ecosystem formed by commensal microbes living in and on the human body, it is likely that these molecular messages are used extensively during the interactions between different microbial species as well as with host cells. Deciphering such a molecular dialect will be fundamental to our understanding of host-microbe interactions in health and disease and may prove useful for the design of new therapeutic strategies that target these mechanisms of communication.


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