Identifying glycan consumers in human gut microbiota samples using metabolic labeling coupled with fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

The composition and metabolism of the human gut microbiota are strongly influenced by dietary complex glycans, which cause downstream effects on the physiology and health of hosts. Despite recent advances in our understanding of glycan metabolism by human gut bacteria, we still need methods to link glycans to their consuming bacteria. Here, we use a functional assay to identify and isolate gut bacteria from healthy human volunteers that take up different glycans.

The current drug discovery landscape for trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis: Challenges and strategies to identify drug targets.

Human trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis are vector-borne neglected tropical diseases caused by infection with the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma spp. and Leishmania spp., respectively.

Drugging the gut microbiota: toward rational modulation of bacterial composition in the gut.

The human gastrointestinal tract hosts almost a trillion microorganisms, organized in a complex community known as the gut microbiota, an integral part of human physiology and metabolism. Indeed, disease-specific alterations in the gut microbiota have been observed in several chronic disorders, including obesity and inflammatory bowel diseases. Correcting these alterations could revert the development of such pathologies or alleviate their symptoms.

Small-Molecule Allosteric Triggers of Clostridium difficile Toxin B Auto-proteolysis as a Therapeutic Strategy.

Clostridium difficile causes increasing numbers of life-threatening intestinal infections. Symptoms associated with C. difficile infection (CDI) are mediated by secreted protein toxins, whose virulence is modulated by intracellular auto-proteolysis following allosteric activation of their protease domains by inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6).