Publications by authors named "Casey D Morrow"

Since previous studies have suggested that the RNAs of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) might be involved in regulating innate immunity, it is important to investigate the HERV transcriptome patterns in innate immune cell types such as CD14 + monocytes. Using single cell RNA-seq datasets from resting or stimulated PBMCs mapped to 3,220 known discrete autonomous proviral HERV loci, we found individual-specific variation in HERV transcriptomes between HERV loci in CD14 + monocytes. Analysis of paired datasets from the same individual that were cultured in vitro with LPS or without (i.

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Gut microbiota influence anti-tumor immunity, often by producing immune-modulating metabolites. However, microbes consume a variety of metabolites that may also impact host immune responses. We show that tumors grow unchecked in the omenta of microbe-replete mice due to immunosuppressive Tregs.

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Along with the standard therapies for glioblastoma, patients are commonly prescribed trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and dexamethasone for preventing infections and reducing cerebral edema, respectively. Because the gut microbiota impacts the efficacy of cancer therapies, it is important to understand how these medications impact the gut microbiota of patients. Using mice that have been colonized with human microbiota, this study sought to examine how TMP-SMX and dexamethasone affect the gut microbiome.

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and are known to be abundant in the human fecal microbial community. Although these strains typically remain stable over time in humans, disruption of this microbial community following antibiotics resulted in the transient change to new strains suggesting that a complex, dynamic strain community exists in humans. To further study the selection of dominant fecal microbial strains from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) community, we analyzed three longitudinal metagenomic sequencing data sets using BLAST+ to identify genes encoding -specific antimicrobial proteins (BSAP) that have known functions to restrict species-specific replication of (BSAP-2) or (BSAP-3) and have been postulated to provide a competitive advantage in microbial communities.

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  • The study looks at how gut bacteria might relate to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, especially among Black women who have higher rates of this disease.
  • Researchers compared 11 Black women with CRC to 22 cancer-free women of the same age and weight to see differences in their gut bacteria and stress levels.
  • The results showed that healthy Black women had less diversity in their gut bacteria compared to others, and stress may affect this diversity too. More research is needed to see if these findings apply to other races and groups.
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Background: Bacterial-sourced single-cell proteins (SCPs) offer an alternative protein source for diet formulation for Zebrafish ( and other aquaculture models. In addition, the use of a single-cell bacterial protein source derived from multiple species provides a unique insight into the interplay among nutrients in the diet, microbial populations in the diet, and the gut microbiome in .

Objective: Our objective in this study was to evaluate the impact of dietary replacement of fish protein hydrolysate in a standard reference (SR) with a single-cell bacterial protein source on gut microbiome.

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The Methionine restriction (MR) diet has been shown to delay aging and extend lifespan in various model organisms. However, the long-term effects of MR diet on the gut microbiome composition remain unclear. To study this, male mice were started on MR and control diet regimens at 6 months and continued until 22 months of age.

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The relationship between dietary habits and microbiota composition during adolescence has not been well examined. This is a crucial knowledge gap to fill considering that diet-microbiota interactions influence neurodevelopment, immune system maturation and metabolic regulation. This study examined the associations between diet and the gut microbiota in a school-based sample of 136 adolescents ( = 12·1 years; age range 11-13 years; 48 % female; 47 % Black, 38 % non-Hispanic White, 15 % Hispanic or other minorities) from urban, suburban and rural areas in the Southeast USA.

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  • Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) often experience abdominal pain, which may be linked to various gastrointestinal (GI) issues, but there's limited data on how frequently this occurs or how it’s evaluated.
  • A study analyzed 1279 encounters of children with abdominal pain, finding that 23% were associated with such pain, particularly in older children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) and those with specific blood count parameters.
  • Less than half of these patients received a GI-specific evaluation in the emergency department, suggesting that improving these evaluations could help diagnose or rule out GI problems and expand the understanding of abdominal pain in SCD patients.
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Due to suppressive antibiotics, patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile have gut microbial communities that are devoid of most commensal microbes. Studies have shown that most of the failures using fecal microbe transplantation (FMT) for recurrent C. difficile occur during the first 4 weeks following transplantation.

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Background: Healthy and predictable physiologic homeostasis is paramount in animal models for biomedical research. Proper macronutrient intake is an essential and controllable environmental factor for maintaining animal health and promoting experimental reproducibility.

Objective And Methods: Evaluate reductions in dietary macronutrient composition on body weight metrics, composition, and gut microbiome in Danio rerio.

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Breast cancer (BC) is among the most frequently diagnosed malignant cancers in women in the United States. Diet and nutrition supplementation are closely related to BC onset and progression, and inulin is commercially available as a health supplement to improve gut health. However, little is known with respect to inulin intake for BC prevention.

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Objectives: To investigate the gut-brain axis, we explored the relationships among mood disturbance (MD), diet quality (DQ), and fecal microbiota in free-living adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with data from 75 healthy adults enrolled in two studies. Anthropometrics, 16s rRNA gene sequencing of fecal microbes, DQ as assessed by Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI), and MD determined by Profile of Mood States (POMS) were included.

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In humans and animals, offspring of allergic mothers have increased responsiveness to allergens. This is blocked in mice by maternal supplementation with α-tocopherol (αT). Also, adults and children with allergic asthma have airway microbiome dysbiosis with increased Proteobacteria and may have decreased Bacteroidota.

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  • Omega-3 fatty acids (w3FAs) have potential benefits for inflammatory diseases, but there's limited research on their effects in sickle cell disease (SCD).
  • A study tested the acceptability of flaxseed, a plant-based source of w3FAs, in baked goods and familiar foods among 30 children with SCD.
  • Results showed that flaxseed in brownies, cookies, and yogurt was well-received, with over 80% of participants open to a follow-up study on a flaxseed-rich diet for reducing SCD-related pain.
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We present high-throughput amplicon sequence (HTS) datasets of the purified microbial metacommunity DNA of coastal surface sediments from Portersville Bay (PVB) ( = 3), Bayou La Batre (BLB) ( = 3), and Mobile Bay (MOB) ( = 3) of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (U.

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Background: The gut microbiota is associated with risk for colorectal cancer (CRC), a chronic disease for which racial disparities persist with Black Americans having a higher risk of CRC incidence and mortality compared to other groups. Given documented racial differences, the gut microbiota may offer some insight into previously unexplained racial disparities in CRC incidence and mortality. A case-control analysis comparing 11 women newly diagnosed with CRC with 22 cancer-free women matched on age, BMI, and race in a 1:2 ratio was conducted.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most devastating diseases currently in the world with no effective treatments. There is increasing evidence that the gut microbiome plays a role in AD. Here we set out to study the age-related changes in the microbiome of the Tgf344-AD rats.

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Background: The gut microbiome contributes to numerous physiological processes in humans, and diet and exercise are known to alter both microbial composition and mood. We sought to explore the effect of a 10-week resistance training (RT) regimen with or without peanut protein supplementation (PPS) in untrained young adults on fecal microbiota and mood disturbance (MD).

Methods: Participants were randomized into PPS (n = 25) and control (CTL [no supplement]; n = 24) groups and engaged in supervised, full-body RT twice a week.

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Purpose: To investigate relationships between body size, gut microbiome, and health-related quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors (BCS) in a clinical trial.

Methods: A cross-sectional substudy was conducted using baseline data from 70 BCS participating in a randomized controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention. Measures included anthropometrics, QOL (Short Form Health-related QOL Survey-36 [SF-36]), and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of fecal microbes.

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Objectives: Spondyloarthritis (SpA) results from the interplay between genetic and environmental factors. An emerging modifiable factor is the human intestinal microbiota, which multiple studies in children and adults have shown to be abnormal in SpA patients, including enthesitis related arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). However, HLA-B27 itself appears to impact the contents of the microbiota and is more common in SpA patients versus controls, thus serving as a confounding factor in most comparative studies.

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The role of the microbiota in the pathogenesis of arthritis is gaining increasing attention. While multiple studies have queried the intestinal microbiota, very few have analyzed the contents of the oral microbiota. In this pilot study, we obtained salivary and sub-gingival specimens from a cohort of six healthy controls and five children with well-controlled spondyloarthritis (SpA) and performed 16S sequencing on bacteria obtained from both habitats.

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  • Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) is used to alter gut microbial communities to improve metabolism and immunity, typically without prior antibiotics, allowing a mix of donor and recipient microbes post-transplant.
  • This study analyzed metagenomic data from 5 FMT cases over periods up to 535 days, employing strain tracking methods to observe changes in microbial strains before and after FMT.
  • Results showed varying dominance of donor or recipient strains in certain microbes, while Bacteroides strains exhibited fluctuation in dominance, and some strains were identified that were neither from the donor nor recipient.
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  • This study looks at how the quality of what people eat affects their gut bacteria and if this plays a role in whether they are overweight or not.
  • It involved 71 women from Birmingham, Alabama, who shared information about their diets and health, and the researchers analyzed their gut bacteria.
  • The results showed that women who ate healthier had a more varied gut bacteria, but weight alone didn’t change this diversity.
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