Alteration of the Intestinal Microbial Flora and the Serum IL-17 Level in Patients with Graves’ Disease Complicated with Vitamin D Deficiency

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Intestinal flora is associated with Graves’ disease (GD). This study explored the association of serum 25(OH)D with the diversity of the intestinal flora and serum IL-17 in GD patients. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Patients newly diagnosed with GD at 2 centers between 2018 and 2021 were consecutively included. According to their 25(OH)D levels, they were divided into the deficiency group, the insufficiency group, and the sufficiency group. Some patients with vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency were randomly selected and were matched with healthy volunteers (normal control [NC]) in terms of sex, age, and case number. The diversity and differential species of the intestinal flora and serum IL-17 levels were compared. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Serum 25(OH)D negatively correlated with serum IL-17, the platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and TSH receptor antibody. The diversity of the intestinal flora decreased in the GD group, with noticeable differences in the composition of the intestinal flora when compared with the NC group. At the phylum level, the GD group exhibited a significantly lower abundance of Firmicutes but a higher abundance of Actinobacteria. At the genus level, the GD group exhibited higher relative abundances of Bifidobacterium, Collinsella, and Pediococcus but lower abundances of Roseburia and Dialister. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The changes in the vitamin D level and the composition of the intestinal flora may partially contribute to the development of GD.

Effect of Boulardii Yeast Wall Polysaccharides on Intestinal Microflora in Jejunum, Cecum and Colon for Early-Weaned Lambs by 16S rRNA Sequence Analysis

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Boulardiiyeast wall polysaccharide (BRYP) on the intestinal micro-ecosystem of early-weaned lambs. A total of 60 early-weaned lambs (35-days-old, Kazak♂*Altay♀*Suffolk♂) were randomly assigned into two treatments: a control group with a basal diet, an experimental group with a basal diet and added 0.05% BRYP. The HiSeq high-throughput sequencing analysis of 16SrRNA was used to investigate the differences in intestinal microbial flora composition, diversity, relative abundance, principle coordination analysis, and the correlation between intestinal microbial flora composition and immune indices. After feeding for 40days, the addition of 0.5% BRYP in milk replacer significantly enhanced the species richness in the cecum and colon, but decreased the diversity of species in the colon (P <0.05); Compared with the control group, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in the experimental group was significantly enhanced, but the Proteobacteria was significantly decreased in all tested intestinal segments (P <0.05).In the jejunum, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, Prevotella, and Fibrobacter of the experimental group were significantly enhanced than that of the control group, but the Ruminobacter was significantly decreased (P <0.05); In the cecum, the relative abundance of Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Oscillospira and Bifidobacterium of the experimental group were significantly enhanced than that of the control group, but the Blautia were significantly decreased (P <0.05); In the colon, the relative abundance of Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Faecalibacteriumof the experimental group were significantly enhanced than that of the control group, but the Prevotella, Streptococcus, and Escherichia were significantly decreased (P <0.05). There were significant correlations between intestinal immune indices (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α) and intestinal microbial composition in the colon (P <0.05). These results indicated that BRYP may contribute to the promotion of the proportion of helpful microbial populations and enhancing the balance of intestinal; Besides, BRYP may indirectly improve the intestinal immune function by changes of intestinal microflora composition, but suppress the inflammatory response in the bottom of intestinal mucosa of early-weaned lambs.© 2021 Friends Science Publishers

Supplementation of branched-chain amino acids decreases fat accumulation in the liver through intestinal microbiota-mediated production of acetic acid

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a significant problem because its prevalence is increasing worldwide. Recent animal studies have identified gut microbiota as a potentially important player in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Previously, we reported that the administration of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) reduces hepatic fat accumulation in experimental animal models. This study aimed to clarify how changes in the intestinal microbial flora following the administration of BCAAs affect a high-fat diet (HF)-induced fat accumulation in the liver. We examined whether the administration of BCAAs alters the development of hepatic fat accumulation as well as intestinal microbial flora. The oral administration of BCAAs (3% kcal) induced a significant increase in Ruminococcus flavefaciens (R. flavefaciens) and portal acetic acid levels, and it reduced hepatic fat accumulation in HF-fed rats. In addition, BCAAs reduced the expression of the lipogenesis-related genes FAS and ACC in the liver. Furthermore, we observed that R. flavefaciens is essential for promoting a BCAA-induced reduction in hepatic fat accumulation. These data suggest that BCAA treatment induces the proliferation of intestinal flora including R. flavefaciens and that portal acetic acid synthesized from intestinal flora improves NAFLD by downregulating the expression of FAS and ACC in the liver.

New Insights into Inflammatory Bowel Diseases from Proteomic and Lipidomic Studies

Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) represent the two main forms of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The exact IBD etiology is not yet revealed but CD and UC are likely induced by an excessive immune response against normal constituents of the intestinal microbial flora. IBD diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms often combined with invasive and costly procedures. Thus, the need for more non-invasive markers is urgent. Several routine laboratory investigations have been explored as indicators of intestinal inflammation in IBD, including blood testing for C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and specific antibodies, in addition to stool testing for calprotectin and lactoferrin. However, none has been universally adopted, some have been well-characterized, and others hold great promise. In recent years, the technological developments within the field of mass spectrometry (MS) and bioinformatics have greatly enhanced the ability to retrieve, characterize, and analyze large amounts of data. High-throughput research allowed enhancing the understanding of the biology of IBD permitting a more accurate biomarker discovery than ever before. In this review, we summarize currently used IBD serological and stool biomarkers and how proteomics and lipidomics are contributing to the identification of IBD biomarkers.

Gut microbiome a promising target for management of respiratory diseases

The intestinal microbial flora has risen to be one of the important etiological factors in the development of diseases like colorectal cancer, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, anxiety and Parkinson's. The emergence of the association between bacterial flora and lungs led to the discovery of the gut–lung axis. Dysbiosis of several species of colonic bacteria such as Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes and transfer of these bacteria from gut to lungs via lymphatic and systemic circulation are associated with several respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, etc. Current therapies for dysbiosis include use of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics to restore the balance between various species of beneficial bacteria. Various approaches like nanotechnology and microencapsulation have been explored to increase the permeability and viability of probiotics in the body. The need of the day is comprehensive study of mechanisms behind dysbiosis, translocation of microbiota from gut to lung through various channels and new technology for evaluating treatment to correct this dysbiosis which in turn can be used to manage various respiratory diseases. Microfluidics and organ on chip model are emerging technologies that can satisfy these needs. This review gives an overview of colonic commensals in lung pathology and novel systems that help in alleviating symptoms of lung diseases. We have also hypothesized new models to help in understanding bacterial pathways involved in the gut–lung axis as well as act as a futuristic approach in finding treatment of respiratory diseases caused by dysbiosis.

Isolation and Characterization of a Deoxynivalenol-Degrading Bacterium Bacillus licheniformis YB9 with the Capability of Modulating Intestinal Microbial Flora of Mice

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most prevalent food- and feed-associated mycotoxins. It frequently contaminates agricultural commodities and poses serious threats to human and animal health and leads to tremendous economic losses globally. Much attention has been paid to using microorganisms to detoxify DON. In this study, a Bacillus licheniformis strain named YB9 with a strong ability to detoxify DON was isolated and characterized from a moldy soil sample. YB9 could degrade more than 82.67% of 1 mg/L DON within 48 h at 37 °C and showed strong survival and DON degradation rate at simulated gastric fluid. The effects of YB9 on mice with DON intragastrical administration were further investigated by biochemical and histopathological examination and the gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing technology. The results showed that DON increased the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatinine (Cr), decreased those of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM in serum, and resulted in severe pathological damage of the liver, kidney, and spleen. By contrast, YB9 supplementation obviously inhibited or attenuated the damages caused by DON in mice. In addition, YB9 addition repaired the DON-induced dysbiosis of intestinal flora, characterized by recovering the balance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes to the normal level and decreasing the abundance of the potentially harmful bacterium Turicibacter and the excessive Lactobacillus caused by DON. Taken together, DON-degrading strain YB9 might be used as potential probiotic additive for improving food and feed safety and modulating the intestinal microbial flora of humans and animals.

Survival and growth performance of Heterobranchus bidorsalis larvae fed diet supplemented with e-probiotic 111®

Background and Objective: Larvae survival problem has bed eviled catfish hatchery in Nigeria. This is widely attributed to many factors including poor utilization of feed at the early stage as swim up larvae. Probiotics is one important supplement in the diet of aquatic animals as immune stimulant, for prevention of disease and enhance survival. Experiment was conducted to establish if commercial probiotic (E-PROBIOTIC 111®) will improve on the survival and growth of Heterobranchus bidorsalis larvae when added to the larvae feed and the influence on the intestinal microbial flora. Materials and method: Two weeks old larvae weaned on decapsulated artemia were reared on 0, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0g/kg levels of E-probiotic 111®supplementedcommercial diet (Aqualis® fry powder) making up four dietary treatments allocated in triplicate in a completely randomized design. Survival, growth, and microbial constituent of larvae subjected to each treatment were monitored during a four weeks rearing. Results: The results obtained indicated that there was no significant variation (p>0.05) among the treatments with regards to survival rate. Larvae fed dietary treatments III (2g/kg) and IV (3.0g/kg) had significantly (p<0.05) increase in percent weight gain but with no significant variation (p>0.05) in length increase. The water quality parameters monitored were not significantly different (p>0.05) among the treatments and within recommended range for larvae survival. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the supplementation of the E-probiotics 111 in the diets of the larvae enhanced the percent occurrence of gut beneficial Bacillus spp. at 2g/kg of each which could have influenced the larvae better performance in terms of survival and growth.

Preventive Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia Caused by Isoimmunization

Objective Probiotic supplementation can help to improve recovery from jaundice by reducing enterohepatic circulation through the regulation of intestinal microbial flora. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of probiotic supplementation on neonatal hyperbilirubinemia caused by isoimmunization alone. Study Design Sixty neonates were randomly divided into a placebo group and a probiotic group (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG). Serum total bilirubin (STB) levels were measured at birth and at 4, 8, 16, 24, and 36 hours of treatment (and at 48, 60, and 72 hours if necessary). Duration of phototherapy, rephototherapy requirements, and daily meconium evacuation were recorded. Results STB and rebound STB levels at 36 hours were lower in the probiotic group than in the placebo group (p = 0.01 and p = 0.006, respectively). Meconium evacuation was more frequent in the probiotic group than in the placebo group on the second and third days of life (p = 0.002 and 0.009, respectively). Conclusion Probiotics do not affect STB levels in the first 24 hours of life or duration of phototherapy in neonates with jaundice caused by blood group incompatibility. The effect of probiotic supplementation by reducing enterohepatic circulation occurs at 36 hours of life in newborns with isoimmunization.