Publications by authors named "Braber S"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how synbiotic supplements can help reduce allergic asthma symptoms in offspring exposed to environmental cigarette smoke and house-dust mites.
  • - Researchers found that pups from mothers exposed to cigarette smoke had increased lung resistance and elevated immune markers, indicating worse asthma symptoms, but synbiotics helped improve these conditions.
  • - By promoting healthy gut bacteria, synbiotic intervention in early life showed promise in reducing allergic reactions and suggests a potential strategy for preventing allergies in children affected by pollution.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Early-life nutrition, particularly the inclusion of prebiotics like galacto-oligosaccharides and human milk oligosaccharides, can improve vaccine responses in infants, as shown in a study with mice.
  • - Mice on a specific diet (combination of GOS/lcFOS and HMOS) exhibited stronger immune responses, evidenced by increased ear swelling (a measure of delayed-type hypersensitivity) and higher levels of specific antibodies (IgG1).
  • - The diet enhanced the activation of immune cells, particularly memory B lymphocytes and Th1 cells, indicating that incorporating these prebiotics into infant formulas could lead to better immune development and vaccine efficacy in infants.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and smokers have a higher incidence of intestinal disorders. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the transcriptomic changes in the lungs and intestines, and the fecal microbial composition after cigarette smoke exposure. Mice were exposed to cigarette smoke and their lung and ileum tissues were analyzed by RNA sequencing.

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Our objective was to determine the effects of nondigestible oligosaccharides (NDO) on lung health and performance. Three hundred male Holstein-Friesian calves aged 18.0 ± 3.

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infection is expected to become the most common healthcare-associated infection worldwide. -induced pathogenicity is significantly attributed to its enterotoxin, TcdA, which primarily targets Rho-GTPases involved in regulating cytoskeletal and tight junction (TJ) dynamics, thus leading to cytoskeleton breakdown and ultimately increased intestinal permeability. This study investigated whether two non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs), alginate (AOS) and chitosan (COS) oligosaccharides, possess antipathogenic and barrier-protective properties against bacteria and TcdA toxin, respectively.

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The worldwide increase in the incidence of antibiotic resistance of the atypical bacterium (MP) challenges the treatment of MP infections, especially in children. Therefore, alternative strategies for the treatment of MP infections are warranted. Galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides (GOS and FOS) are a specific group of complex carbohydrates that were recently shown to possess direct anti-pathogenic properties.

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Epidemiological studies indicate that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with the incidence of changes in intestinal health. Cigarette smoking, as one of the major causes of COPD, can have an impact on the gastrointestinal system and promotes intestinal diseases. This points to the existence of gut-lung interactions, but an overview of the underlying mechanisms of the bidirectional connection between the lungs and the gut in COPD is lacking.

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(1) Exposure of intestinal epithelial cells to heat and hypoxia causes a (heat) stress response, resulting in the breakdown of epithelial integrity. There are indications that several categories of nutritional components have beneficial effects on maintaining the intestinal epithelial integrity under stress conditions. This study evaluated the effect of nine nutritional components, including non-digestible oligosaccharides (galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), chitosan oligosaccharides (COS)), antioxidants (α-lipoic acid (ALA), resveratrol (RES)), amino acids (l-glutamine (Glu), l-arginine (Arg)) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) (docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)), on heat/hypoxia-induced epithelial injury.

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Emerging antimicrobial resistance in respiratory infections requires novel intervention strategies. Non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) are a diverse group of carbohydrates with broad protective effects. In addition to promoting the colonization of beneficial gut microbiota and maintaining the intestinal homeostasis, NDOs act as decoy receptors, effectively blocking the attachment of pathogens on host cells.

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One cluster of the extrapulmonary manifestations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is related to the brain, which includes anxiety, depression and cognitive impairment. Brain-related comorbidities are related to worsening of symptoms and increased mortality in COPD patients. In this study, a murine model of COPD was used to examine the effects of emphysema and repetitive pulmonary inflammatory events on systemic inflammatory outcomes and brain function.

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The epithelial monolayer is the primary determinant of mucosal barrier function, and tight junction (TJ) complexes seal the paracellular space between the adjacent epithelial cells and represent the main "gate-keepers" of the paracellular route. Impaired TJ functionality results in increased permeation of the "pro-inflammatory" luminal contents to the circulation that induces local and systemic inflammatory and immune responses, ultimately triggering and/or perpetuating (chronic) systemic inflammatory disorders. Increased gut leakiness is associated with intestinal and systemic disease states such as inflammatory bowel disease and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), often caused by smoking, is a chronic lung disease with systemic manifestations including metabolic comorbidities. This study investigates adaptive and pathological alterations in adipose and skeletal muscle tissue following cigarette smoke exposure using in vivo and in vitro models. Mice were exposed to cigarette smoke or air for 72 days and the pre-adipose cell line 3T3-L1 was utilized as an in vitro model.

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Deoxynivalenol (DON), a highly prevalent food contaminant, is known to induce reproductive and immunotoxicity in humans upon exposure. The present study focused on the consequences of exposure to DON during pregnancy for placental barrier and immune function, as well as fetal survival. Female mice received diets contaminated with DON (6.

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Introduction: The lack of effective anti-inflammatory therapies for pneumonia represents a challenge for identifying new alternatives. Non-digestible galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are attractive candidates due to their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects both locally and systemically.

Objectives: The anti-inflammatory properties of GOS were investigated in calves with lung infections and in calf primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBECs) and human lung epithelial cells (A549).

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Brain-related comorbidities are frequently observed in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are related to increased disease progression and mortality. To date, it is unclear which mechanisms are involved in the development of brain-related problems in COPD. In this study, a cigarette smoke and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure murine model was used to induce COPD-like features and assess the impact on brain and behavior.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is often associated with intestinal comorbidities. In this study, changes in intestinal homeostasis and immunity in a cigarette smoke (CS)- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced COPD model were investigated. Mice were exposed to cigarette smoke or air for 72 days, except , , and on which the mice were treated with saline or LPS via intratracheal instillation.

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Long term particulate matter (PM) exposure has been associated with an increased incidence of respiratory diseases. Here, an in vitro model was developed to study how long term diesel exhaust particle (DEP) exposure might predispose to the development of allergic reactions. Airway epithelial (16HBE) cells were exposed to low concentrations of diesel exhaust particle (DEP) for 4 days after which they were challenged with house dust mite (HDM) extract (24 h).

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Emerging antimicrobial resistance in infections asks for novel intervention strategies. Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) might be attractive alternatives to antibiotics due to their anti-inflammatory and anti-adhesive properties. Mannheimia haemolytica is one of the major Pasteurellaceae associated with bovine lung infections.

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Air pollution exposure is a public health emergency, which attributes globally to an estimated seven million deaths on a yearly basis We are all exposed to air pollutants, varying from ambient air pollution hanging over cities to dust inside the home. It is a mixture of airborne particulate matter and gases that can be subdivided into three categories based on particle diameter. The smallest category called PM is the most abundant.

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Animal models are still vital in the field of respiratory disease research. To improve the accuracy and consistency of the dose of specific compounds administered specifically in the respiratory tract, it is important to optimize and to compare the technique to currently available techniques. In this study, an optimized intubation-mediated intratracheal administration (IMIT) technique is described and compared to oropharyngeal aspiration (OA).

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Increased exposure to household air pollution and ambient air pollution has become one of the world's major environmental health threats. In developing and developed countries, environmental cigarette smoke (CS) exposure is one of the main sources of household air pollution (HAP). Moreover, results from different epidemiological and experimental studies indicate that there is a strong association between HAP, specifically CS exposure, and the development of allergic diseases that often persists into later life.

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Deoxynivalenol (DON), a highly prevalent contaminant of grain-based products, is known to induce reproductive- and immunotoxicities. Considering the importance of immune development in early life, the present study investigated the effects of perinatal DON exposure on allergy development and vaccine responsiveness in the offspring. Pregnant mice received control or DON-contaminated diets (12.

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An intact intestinal barrier is crucial for immune homeostasis and its impairment activates the immune system and may result in chronic inflammation. The epithelial cells of the intestinal barrier are connected by tight junctions, which form an anastomosing network sealing adjacent epithelial cells. Tight junctions are composed of transmembrane and cytoplasmic scaffolding proteins.

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Emerging antimicrobial-resistant pathogens highlight the importance of developing novel interventions. Here, we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) in calf lung infections and in airway epithelial cells stimulated with pathogens, and/or bacterial components. During a natural exposure, 100 male calves were fed milk replacer with or without FOS for 8 weeks.

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