Altitude-dependent agro-ecologies impact the microbiome diversity of scavenging indigenous chicken in Ethiopia.

Background: Scavenging indigenous village chickens play a vital role in sub-Saharan Africa, sustaining the livelihood of millions of farmers. These chickens are exposed to vastly different environments and feeds compared to commercial chickens. In this study, we analysed the caecal microbiota of 243 Ethiopian village chickens living in different altitude-dependent agro-ecologies.

An online atlas of human plasma metabolite signatures of gut microbiome composition.

Human gut microbiota produce a variety of molecules, some of which enter the bloodstream and impact health. Conversely, dietary or pharmacological compounds may affect the microbiota before entering the circulation. Characterization of these interactions is an important step towards understanding the effects of the gut microbiota on health.

Vaginal microbiome following orally administered probiotic.

Here, we present a longitudinal shotgun sequencing metagenomics study of 16 healthy, Danish women in the reproductive age. The aim of the study was to investigate whether lactobacilli, orally consumed, had any impact on the vaginal microbiome and its functional potential. The 16 women aged 19-45 years were recruited from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Skin dysbiosis in the microbiome in atopic dermatitis is site-specific and involves bacteria, fungus and virus.

Background: Microbial dysbiosis with increased Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) colonization on the skin is a hallmark of atopic dermatitis (AD), however most microbiome studies focus on bacteria in the flexures and the microbial composition at other body sites have not been studied systematically.

Objectives: The aim of the study is to characterize the skin microbiome, including bacteria, fungi and virus, at different body sites in relation to AD, lesional state, and S.

Propionic Acid Shapes the Multiple Sclerosis Disease Course by an Immunomodulatory Mechanism.

Short-chain fatty acids are processed from indigestible dietary fibers by gut bacteria and have immunomodulatory properties. Here, we investigate propionic acid (PA) in multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease. Serum and feces of subjects with MS exhibited significantly reduced PA amounts compared with controls, particularly after the first relapse.

Interventional Influence of the Intestinal Microbiome Through Dietary Intervention and Bowel Cleansing Might Improve Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease.

The impact of the gut microbiome is being increasingly appreciated in health and in various chronic diseases, among them neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). In the pathogenesis of PD, the role of the gut has been previously established. In conjunction with a better understanding of the intestinal microbiome, a link to the misfolding and spread of alpha-synuclein via inflammatory processes within the gut is discussed.

Metabolic and gut microbiome changes following GLP-1 or dual GLP-1/GLP-2 receptor agonist treatment in diet-induced obese mice.

Enteroendocrine L-cell derived peptide hormones, notably glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2), have become important targets in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, obesity and intestinal diseases. As gut microbial imbalances and maladaptive host responses have been implicated in the pathology of obesity and diabetes, this study aimed to determine the effects of pharmacologically stimulated GLP-1 and GLP-2 receptor function on the gut microbiome composition in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. DIO mice received treatment with a selective GLP-1 receptor agonist (liraglutide, 0.

Habitat fragmentation is associated with dietary shifts and microbiota variability in common vampire bats.

Host ecological factors and external environmental factors are known to influence the structure of gut microbial communities, but few studies have examined the impacts of environmental changes on microbiotas in free-ranging animals. Rapid land-use change has the potential to shift gut microbial communities in wildlife through exposure to novel bacteria and/or by changing the availability or quality of local food resources. The consequences of such changes to host health and fitness remain unknown and may have important implications for pathogen spillover between humans and wildlife.

Human Paneth cell α-defensin-5 treatment reverses dyslipidemia and improves glucoregulatory capacity in diet-induced obese mice.

Overnutrition is the principal cause of insulin resistance (IR) and dyslipidemia, which drive nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Overnutrition is further linked to disrupted bowel function, microbiota alterations, and change of function in gut-lining cell populations, including Paneth cells of the small intestine. Paneth cells regulate microbial diversity through expression of antimicrobial peptides, particularly human α-defensin-5 (HD-5), and have shown repressed secretory capacity in human obesity.

Effects of exercise and dietary protein sources on adiposity and insulin sensitivity in obese mice.

Low-fat diets and exercise are generally assumed to ameliorate obesity-related metabolic dysfunctions, but the importance of exercise vs. dietary changes is debated. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat/high-sucrose (HF/HS) diet to induce obesity and then either maintained on the HF/HS or shifted to low-fat (LF) diets containing either salmon or entrecote.

High intake of dairy during energy restriction does not affect energy balance or the intestinal microflora compared with low dairy intake in overweight individuals in a randomized controlled trial.

During weight loss, dairy calcium is proposed to accelerate weight and fat-mass loss through increased fecal fat excretion. The primary objective was to investigate if a high-dairy energy-restricted diet is superior to low dairy in terms of changes in body weight, body composition, and fecal fat excretion over 24 weeks. Secondary objectives included fecal energy and calcium excretion, resting energy expenditure, blood pressure, lipid metabolism, and gut microbiota.

Prenatal exposure to paracetamol/acetaminophen and precursor aniline impairs masculinisation of male brain and behaviour.

Paracetamol/acetaminophen (N-Acetyl-p-Aminophenol; APAP) is the preferred analgesic for pain relief and fever during pregnancy. It has therefore caused concern that several studies have reported that prenatal exposure to APAP results in developmental alterations in both the reproductive tract and the brain. Genitals and nervous system of male mammals are actively masculinised during foetal development and early postnatal life by the combined actions of prostaglandins and androgens, resulting in the male-typical reproductive behaviour seen in adulthood.

Acute infection with the intestinal parasite Trichuris muris has long-term consequences on mucosal mast cell homeostasis and epithelial integrity.

A hallmark of parasite infection is the accumulation of innate immune cells, notably granulocytes and mast cells, at the site of infection. While this is typically viewed as a transient response, with the tissue returning to steady state once the infection is cleared, we found that mast cells accumulated in the large-intestinal epithelium following infection with the nematode Trichuris muris and persisted at this site for several months after worm expulsion. Mast cell accumulation in the epithelium was associated with the induction of type-2 immunity and appeared to be driven by increased maturation of local progenitors in the intestinal lamina propria.

Human gut microbes impact host serum metabolome and insulin sensitivity.

Insulin resistance is a forerunner state of ischaemic cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Here we show how the human gut microbiome impacts the serum metabolome and associates with insulin resistance in 277 non-diabetic Danish individuals. The serum metabolome of insulin-resistant individuals is characterized by increased levels of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which correlate with a gut microbiome that has an enriched biosynthetic potential for BCAAs and is deprived of genes encoding bacterial inward transporters for these amino acids.

Intrauterine Exposure to Paracetamol and Aniline Impairs Female Reproductive Development by Reducing Follicle Reserves and Fertility.

Studies report that fetal exposure to paracetamol/acetaminophen by maternal consumption can interfere with male reproductive development. Moreover, recent biomonitoring data report widespread presence of paracetamol in German and Danish populations, suggesting exposure via secondary (nonpharmaceutical) sources, such as metabolic conversion from the ubiquitous industrial compound aniline. In this study, we investigated the extent to which paracetamol and aniline can interfere with female reproductive development.

Chronic Trichuris muris Infection Decreases Diversity of the Intestinal Microbiota and Concomitantly Increases the Abundance of Lactobacilli.

The intestinal microbiota is vital for shaping the local intestinal environment as well as host immunity and metabolism. At the same time, epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest an important role for parasitic worm infections in maintaining the inflammatory and regulatory balance of the immune system. In line with this, the prevalence of persistent worm infections is inversely correlated with the incidence of immune-associated diseases, prompting the use of controlled parasite infections for therapeutic purposes.

Volume-sensitive release of organic osmolytes in the human lung epithelial cell line A549: role of the 5-lipoxygenase.

Pathophysiological conditions challenge cell volume homeostasis and perturb cell volume regulatory mechanisms leading to alterations of cell metabolism, active transepithelial transport, cell migration, and death. We report that inhibition of the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) with AA861 or ETH 615-139, the cysteinyl leukotriene 1 receptor (CysLT₁) with the antiasthmatic drug Zafirlukast, or the volume-sensitive organic anion channel (VSOAC) with DIDS blocks the release of organic osmolytes (taurine, meAIB) and the concomitant cell volume restoration following hypoosmotic swelling of human type II-like lung epithelial cells (A549). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in A549 cells upon hypotonic cell swelling by a diphenylene iodonium-sensitive NADPH oxidase.

Pinpointing differences in cisplatin-induced apoptosis in adherent and non-adherent cancer cells.

Platinum compounds are used in the treatment of cancer. We demonstrate that cisplatin-induced (10 μM) apoptosis (caspase-3 activity) is pronounced within 18 hours in non-adherent Ehrlich ascites tumour cells (EATC), whereas there is no increase in caspase-3 activity in the adherent Ehrlich Lettré ascites tumour cells (ELA). Loss of KCl and cell shrinkage are hallmarks in apoptosis and has been shown in EATC.