The fecal bifidobacterial transcriptome of adults: a microarray approach.

Bifidobacteria are a predominant group present among adult human intestinal microbiota and are considered to be beneficial to host health. Both the dynamics and functional activity of bifidobacteria from the intestinal tract of four adults, following ingestion of a mix consisting of short chain galactooligosaccharides, long chain fructooligosaccharides and acidic oligosaccharides from pectin hydrolysate (GFP), was investigated. The percentage of total bifidobacteria, monitored by quantitative real time PCR, was not significantly altered but marked species-specific changes occurred in all individuals over time, indicating a dynamic bifidobacterial community.

Carbohydrate supplementation before operation retains intestinal barrier function and lowers bacterial translocation in a rat model of major abdominal surgery.

Background: Overnight fasting of rats augments the susceptibility of the small intestine to ischemia-reperfusion damage. Feeding before surgery may improve injuries to distant organs that were induced by ischemia-reperfusion. The present study tested the hypothesis that one of the food constituents, namely carbohydrates, may be responsible for the protective effect of preoperative feeding on postoperative organ dysfunction.

Early impairment of gut function and gut flora supporting a role for alteration of gastrointestinal mucosa in human immunodeficiency virus pathogenesis.

Our results show that impairment of the gastrointestinal tracts in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients is present in the early phases of HIV disease. This impairment is associated with alterations in gut microbiota and intestinal inflammatory parameters. These findings support the hypothesis that alterations at the gastrointestinal-tract level are a key factor in HIV pathogenesis.

Prebiotic oligosaccharides and the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts in rats.

Human milk contains prebiotic oligosaccharides, which stimulate the growth of intestinal bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. It is unclear whether the prebiotic capacity of human milk contributes to the larger bile salt pool size and the more efficient fat absorption in infants fed human milk compared with formula. We determined the effect of prebiotic oligosaccharides on bile salt metabolism in rats.

Strain-specific effects of probiotics on gut barrier integrity following hemorrhagic shock.

Probiotic therapy modulates the composition of the intestinal flora and inhibits the inflammatory response. These properties may be of benefit in the preservation of gut barrier integrity after injury or stress. In this study, we examined the effect of two Lactobacillus strains selected for their pathogen exclusion properties on intestinal barrier integrity following hemorrhagic shock.

Demonstration by a nested PCR for Mycoplasma pneumoniae that M. pneumoniae load in the throat is higher in patients hospitalised for M. pneumoniae infection than in non-hospitalised subjects.

A nested PCR protocol to detect Mycoplasma pneumoniae DNA in throat specimens was developed. An amplification control (AC) template, which is amplified by the same primers as the M. pneumoniae target sequence, was constructed.