Gut Microbiome in Retina Health: The Crucial Role of the Gut-Retina Axis

The term microbiome means not only a complex ecosystem of microbial species that colonize our body but also their genome and the surrounding environment in which they live. Recent studies support the existence of a gut-retina axis involved in the pathogenesis of several chronic progressive ocular diseases, including age-related macular disorders. This review aims to underline the importance of the gut microbiome in relation to ocular health. After briefly introducing the characteristics of the gut microbiome in terms of composition and functions, the role of gut microbiome dysbiosis, in the development or progression of retinal diseases, is highlighted, focusing on the relationship between gut microbiome composition and retinal health based on the recently investigated gut-retina axis.

Current Status, Recent Advances, and Main Challenges on Table Olive Fermentation: The Present Meets the Future

Table olives are among the most well-known fermented foods, being a vital part of the Mediterranean pyramid diet. They constitute a noteworthy economic factor for the producing countries since both their production and consumption are exponentially increasing year by year, worldwide. Despite its significance, olive’s processing is still craft based, not changed since antiquity, leading to the production of an unstable final product with potential risk concerns, especially related to deterioration. However, based on industrial needs and market demands for reproducible, safe, and healthy products, the modernization of olive fermentation processing is the most important challenge of the current decade. In this sense, the reduction of sodium content and more importantly the use of suitable starter cultures, exhibiting both technological and potential probiotic features, to drive the process may extremely contribute to this need. Prior, to achieve in this effort, the full understanding of table olive microbial ecology during fermentation, including an in-depth determination of microbiota presence and/or dominance and its functionality (genes responsible for metabolite production) that shape the sensorial characteristics of the final product, is a pre-requisite. The advent of meta-omics technology could provide a thorough study of this complex ecosystem, opening in parallel new insights in the field, such as the concept of microbial terroir. Herein, we provide an updated overview in the field of olive fermentation, pointing out some important challenges/perspectives that could be the key to the olive sector’s advancement and modernization.

Anti-cancer Activity of Human Gastrointestinal Bacteria

Malignant neoplasm is one of the most incurable diseases among inflammatory diseases. Researchers have been studying for decades to win over this lethal disease and provide the light of hope to humankind. The gastrointestinal bacteria of human hold a complex ecosystem and maintain homeostasis. One hundred trillion microbes are residing in the gastrointestinal tract of human. Disturbances in the microbiota of human’s gastrointestinal tract can create immune response against inflammation and also can develop diseases , including cancer. The bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract of human, can secrete a variety of metabolites and bioproducts which aid in the preservation of homeostasis in the host and gut. During pathogenic dysbiosis, on the other hand, numerous microbiota subpopulations may increase and create excessive levels of toxins, which can cause inflammation and cancer. Furthermore, the immune system of host and the epithelium cell can be influenced by gut microbiota. Probiotics, which are bacteria that live in the gut, have been protected against tumor formation. Probiotics are now studied to see if they can help fight dysbiosis in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy because of their capacity to maintain gut homeostasis. Countless numbers of gut bacteria have demonstrated anti-cancer efficiency in cancer treatment, prevention, and boosting the efficiency of immunotherapy. The review article has briefly explained the anti-cancer immunity of gut microbes and their application in treating a variety of cancer. This review paper also highlights the pre-clinical studies of probiotics against cancer and the completed and ongoing clinical trials on cancers with the two most common and highly effective probiotics Lactobacillus and Bacillus spp.

Evolving Access to Educational Materials

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the ways in which the selection of educational materials results in implications that impact access to these materials. This is necessary considering the evolving nature of educational materials offered by traditional publishers, and the increase in the availability of online learning materials, among those, open educational resources. I begin by reviewing the existing literature on emerging problems and barriers to learners’ access to educational materials including textbooks, online learning resources, and open educational resources. The findings from the literature review confirm that learners are now engaging with an increasingly complex ecosystem of educational materials, both print and digital, in a multitude of differing forms and formats, with various terms of use and durations of sustained access. Educators have a variety of choices to make when considering the educational materials to be used in their courses, and while fitness for purpose still dominates as the most important selection criterion, ease and persistence of access are becoming important considerations. A model which encapsulates the findings considering the variety of educational materials is presented alongside a discussion about the specific considerations for each.

From Pre- and Probiotics to Post-Biotics: A Narrative Review

Background and aims: gut microbiota (GM) is a complex ecosystem containing bacteria, viruses, fungi, and yeasts. It has several functions in the human body ranging from immunomodulation to metabolic. GM derangement is called dysbiosis and is involved in several host diseases. Pre-, probiotics, and symbiotics (PRE-PRO-SYMB) have been extensively developed and studied for GM re-modulation. Herein, we review the literature data regarding the new concept of postbiotics, starting from PRE-PRO-SYMB. Methods: we conducted a search on the main medical databases for original articles, reviews, meta-analyses, randomized clinical trials, and case series using the following keywords and acronyms and their associations: gut microbiota, prebiotics, probiotics, symbiotic, and postbiotics. Results: postbiotics account for PRO components and metabolic products able to beneficially affect host health and GM. The deeper the knowledge about them, the greater their possible uses: the prevention and treatment of atopic, respiratory tract, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Conclusions: better knowledge about postbiotics can be useful for the prevention and treatment of several human body diseases, alone or as an add-on to PRE-PRO-SYMB.

Role of probiotics in prevention and treatment of diarrhea and disbiosis in infants

Кишечная микробиота представляет собой сложную экосистему, образованную сообществом микроорганизмов, которое расценивается как самостоятельный метаболический орган. Преобладающими микроорганизмами в толстой кишке здорового младенца являются бифидобактерии и лактобациллы, которые конкурентно подавляют рост условно-патогенных и патогенных микробов и способствуют развитию иммунной системы. На протяжении последних 10 лет исследования в области молекулярной биологии и строения генома Bifidobacterium и Lactobacillus были сфокусированы на таких проблемах, как взаимодействие с иммунной системой и перспективы их использования при антибиотик-ассоциированной диарее и при диареях в педиатрической практике, а также при синдроме раздраженного кишечника и при воспалительных заболеваниях кишечника. За последние годы выполнен целый ряд клинических исследований, посвященных использованию пробиотиков в целях лечения и профилактики диареи у детей, а также подготовлено несколько подробных метаанализов, которые дают достаточно полное представление о возможностях использования монокомпонентных и комбинированных пробиотических препаратов. Получены важные факты в пользу того, что определенные штаммы Lactobacilli и Bifidobacteria являются иммуномодуляторами и способны влиять на иммунную регуляцию посредством воздействия на баланс между провоспалительными и противовоспалительными цитокинами. Еще одним механизмом действия пробиотических препаратов является их влияние на допаминовые и серотониновые рецепторы, благодаря чему установлено положительное влияние пробиотиков у пациентов, находящихся в состоянии стресса и при депрессивных состояниях. В статье показано, что комбинированные пробиотики обладают синергическим действием, оказывают антибактериальное действие и иммуномодулирующий эффект и обладают доказанной клинической эффективностью при диарее и дисбактериозе у детей. Intestinal microbiota is a complex ecosystem of the community of enteric microorganisms and is estimated as an individual metabolic organ. Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli are the predominant microbes in a colon of healthy infants, they are able to suppress a growth of pathogenic and conditionally pathogenic microorganisms and support a development of immune system. Over the past 10 years, research in the field of molecular biology and genome structure of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus has focused on such problems as interaction with the immune system and the prospects for their use in antibiotic-associated diarrhea and diarrhea in pediatric practice, as well as in irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. In recent years, a number of clinical studies have been carried out on the use of probiotics for the treatment and prevention of diarrhea in children, and several detailed analytical meta-analyzes have been prepared, which give a fairly complete picture of the possibilities of using monocomponent and combined probiotic drugs. Important facts have been obtained in favor of the fact that certain strains of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria are immunomodulators and are able to influence immune regulation by affecting the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Another mechanism of action of probiotic drugs is their effect on dopamine and serotonin receptors, due to which a positive effect of probiotics has been established in patients under stress and in depression. The article shows that combined probiotic remedies are characterized by synergic action and have an antibacterial effect and immune modulation. Combined probiotics are characterized by synergic activity and support a development of immune system. Due to these properties they have a clinically proven effect in diarrhea and disbiosis in infants.

Research Progress on the Role of Regulatory T Cell in Tumor Microenvironment in the Treatment of Breast Cancer

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex ecosystem comprised of cancer cells, stromal cells, and immune cells. Analysis of the composition of TME is essential to assess the prognosis of patients with breast cancer (BC) and the efficacy of different regimes. Treg plays a crucial role in the microenvironment of breast cancer subtypes, and its function contributes to the development and progression of BC by suppressing anti-tumor immunity directly or indirectly through multiple mechanisms. In addition, conventional treatments, such as anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and neo-therapies, such as immune-checkpoint blockades, have a significant impact on the absence of Tregs in BC TME, thus gaining additional anti-tumor effect to some extent. Strikingly, Treg in BC TME revealed the predicted efficacy of some therapeutic strategies. All these results suggest that we can manipulate the abundance of Treg to achieve the ultimate effect of both conventional and novel treatments. In this review, we discuss new insights into the characteristics of Treg in BC TME, the impact of different regiments on Treg, and the possibilities of Treg as a predictive marker of efficacy for certain treatments.

Skin Mycobiota of the Captive Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and the Distribution of Opportunistic Dermatomycosis-Associated Fungi in Different Seasons

Dermatomycosis is the second major cause of morbidity in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), and seriously endangers its health. Previous observations indicated that the occurrence of dermatomycosis in the giant panda varies in different seasons. The skin microbiota is a complex ecosystem, but knowledge on the community structure and the pathogenic potentials of fungi on the skin of the giant panda remains limited. In this study, samples from the giant panda skin in different seasons were collected, and the mycobiota were profiled by 18S rRNA gene sequencing. In total, 375 genera in 38 phyla were detected, with Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Streptophyta, and Chlorophyta as the predominant phyla and Trichosporon, Guehomyces, Davidiella, Chlorella, Asterotremella, and Klebsormidium as the predominant genera. The skin mycobiota of the giant panda changed in the seasons, and the diversity and abundance of the skin fungi were significantly higher in spring, autumn, and summer than in the winter. Several dermatomycosis-associated fungi were detected as opportunists in the skin mycobiota of healthy giant pandas. Clinical dermatomycosis in the giant panda is observed more in summer and autumn. In this study, the results indicated that the high diversity and abundance of the skin fungi may have enhanced the occurrence of dermatomycosis in autumn and summer, and that dermatomycosis-associated fungi are the normal components of the skin mycobiota.