Deciphering the mechanisms of action underlying probiotic properties of Shouchella clausii by a functional genomics approach.

Probiotics are widely used for their health promoting effects, though a lot remain to be discovered, particularly on their mechanisms of action at the molecular level. The functional genomic approach is an appropriate method to decipher how probiotics may influence human cell fate and therefore contribute to their health benefit. In the present work, we focused on Shouchella clausii (formerly named Bacillus then Alkalihalobacillus clausii), a spore-forming bacterium that is commercially available as a probiotic for the prevention and the treatment of intestinal dysbiosis and related gastrointestinal disorders, such as diarrhoea.

Young rat microbiota extracts strongly inhibit fibrillation of α-synuclein and protect neuroblastoma cells and zebrafish against α-synuclein toxicity.

The clinical manifestations of Parkinson's disease (PD) are driven by aggregation of α-Synuclein (α-Syn) in the brain. However, there is increasing evidence that PD may be initiated in the gut and thence spread to the brain, eg, via the vagus nerve. Many studies link PD to changes in the gut microbiome, and bacterial amyloid has been shown to stimulate α-Syn aggregation.

Identification of and adhesins mediating co-aggregation and its impact on physiology and mixed biofilm structure.

Unlabelled: The dental plaque is a polymicrobial community where biofilm formation and co-aggregation, the ability to bind to other bacteria, play a major role in the construction of an organized consortium. One of its prominent members is the anaerobic diderm considered a bridging species, which growth depends on lactate produced by oral streptococci. Understanding how co-aggregates and the impact of aggregation has long been hampered due to the lack of appropriate genetic tools.

Stable coexistence between an archaeal virus and the dominant methanogen of the human gut.

The human gut virome, which is mainly composed of bacteriophages, also includes viruses infecting archaea, yet their role remains poorly understood due to lack of isolates. Here, we characterize a temperate archaeal virus (MSTV1) infecting Methanobrevibacter smithii, the dominant methanogenic archaeon of the human gut. The MSTV1 genome is integrated in the host chromosome as a provirus which is sporadically induced, resulting in virion release.

promotes inflammatory and anti-apoptotic responses in colorectal cancer cells via ADP-heptose release and ALPK1/TIFA axis activation.

The anaerobic bacterium is significantly associated with human colorectal cancer (CRC) and is considered a significant contributor to the disease. The mechanisms underlying the promotion of intestinal tumor formation by have only been partially uncovered. Here, we showed that releases a metabolite into the microenvironment that strongly activates NF-κB in intestinal epithelial cells via the ALPK1/TIFA/TRAF6 pathway.