Microbiota and metabolic adaptation shape virulence and antimicrobial resistance during intestinal colonization.

Depletion of microbiota increases susceptibility to gastrointestinal colonization and subsequent infection by opportunistic pathogens such as methicillin-resistant (MRSA). How the absence of gut microbiota impacts the evolution of MRSA is unknown. The present report used germ-free mice to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of MRSA in the absence of gut microbiota.

Functional characterization of helminth-associated Clostridiales reveals covariates of Treg differentiation.

Background: Parasitic helminths influence the composition of the gut microbiome. However, the microbiomes of individuals living in helminth-endemic regions are understudied. The Orang Asli, an indigenous population in Malaysia with high burdens of the helminth Trichuris trichiura, display microbiotas enriched in Clostridiales, an order of spore-forming obligate anaerobes with immunogenic properties.

Class IIa HDAC4 and HDAC7 cooperatively regulate gene transcription in Th17 cell differentiation.

Class II histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important in regulation of gene transcription during T cell development. However, our understanding of their cell-specific functions is limited. In this study, we reveal that class IIa Hdac4 and Hdac7 (Hdac4/7) are selectively induced in transcription, guiding the lineage-specific differentiation of mouse T-helper 17 (Th17) cells from naive CD4 T cells.

Mitigation of Osteoclast-Mediated Arthritic Bone Remodeling By Short Chain Fatty Acids.

Objective: The objective for this study was to evaluate the effects of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) on arthritic bone remodeling.

Methods: We treated a recently described preclinical murine model of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), R26STAT3C CD4Cre mice, with SCFA-supplemented water. We also performed in vitro osteoclast differentiation assays in the presence of serum-level SCFAs to evaluate the direct impact of these microbial metabolites on maturation and function of osteoclasts.

Functional characterization of helminth-associated Clostridiales reveals covariates of Treg differentiation.

Parasitic helminths influence the composition of the gut microbiome. However, the microbiomes of individuals living in helminth-endemic regions are understudied. The Orang Asli, an indigenous population in Malaysia with high burdens of the helminth , displayed microbiotas enriched in Clostridiales, an order of spore-forming obligate anaerobes previously shown to have immunogenic properties.

HIPK2 directs cell type-specific regulation of STAT3 transcriptional activity in Th17 cell differentiation.

SignificanceSTAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) is a master transcription factor that organizes cellular responses to cytokines and growth factors and is implicated in inflammatory disorders. STAT3 is a well-recognized therapeutic target for human cancer and inflammatory disorders, but how its function is regulated in a cell type-specific manner has been a major outstanding question. We discovered that Stat3 imposes self-directed regulation through controlling transcription of its own regulator homeodomain-interacting protein kinase 2 () in a T helper 17 (Th17) cell-specific manner.

Microbial-derived antigens and metabolites in spondyloarthritis.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory diseases affecting the bone, synovium, and enthesis. Microbiome, the community of microorganisms that has co-evolved with human hosts, plays a pivotal role in human health and disease. This invisible "essential organ" supplies the host with a myriad of chemicals and molecules.

Activation of the vitamin D receptor transcription factor stimulates the growth of definitive erythroid progenitors.

The pathways that regulate the growth of erythroid progenitors are incompletely understood. In a computational analysis of gene expression changes during erythroid ontogeny, the () nuclear hormone receptor transcription factor gene was identified in fetal and adult stages, but not at the embryonic stage of development. was expressed in definitive erythroid (EryD) progenitors and was downregulated during their maturation.

Whole genome DNA methylation sequencing of the chicken retina, cornea and brain.

Whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) analysis of DNA methylation uses massively parallel next generation sequencing technology to characterize global epigenetic patterns and fluctuations throughout a range of tissue samples. Development of the vertebrate retina is thought to involve extensive epigenetic reprogramming during embryogenesis. The chicken embryo (Gallus gallus) is a classic model system for studying developmental biology and retinogenesis, however, there are currently no publicly available data sets describing the developing chicken retinal methylome.