Gut Colonization of Zebrafish Larvae Induces a Dampened Sensorimotor Response.

Cholera is a diarrheal disease prevalent in populations without access to clean water. Cholera is caused by which colonizes the upper small intestine in humans once ingested. A growing number of studies suggest that the gut microbiome composition modulates animal behavior.

Homeostatic Macrophages Prevent Preterm Birth and Improve Neonatal Outcomes by Mitigating In Utero Sterile Inflammation in Mice.

Preterm birth (PTB), often preceded by preterm labor, is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most PTB cases involve intra-amniotic inflammation without detectable microorganisms, termed in utero sterile inflammation, for which there is no established treatment. In this study, we propose homeostatic macrophages to prevent PTB and adverse neonatal outcomes caused by in utero sterile inflammation.

Gut microbiome alpha diversity decreases in relation to body weight, antibiotic exposure, and infection with multidrug-resistant organisms.

Background: The human gastrointestinal tract is home to a dense and diverse microbiome, predominated by bacteria. Despite the conservation of critical functionality across most individuals, the composition of the gut microbiome is highly individualized, leading to differential responses to perturbations such as oral antibiotics or multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection. Herein, subject responses to these perturbations based on their body weight were evaluated.

The Vaginal Microbiota of Pregnant Women Varies with Gestational Age, Maternal Age, and Parity.

The composition of the vaginal microbiota is heavily influenced by pregnancy and may factor into pregnancy complications, including spontaneous preterm birth. However, results among studies have been inconsistent due, in part, to variation in sample sizes and ethnicity. Thus, an association between the vaginal microbiota and preterm labor continues to be debated.

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin participates in the host response to intra-amniotic inflammation leading to preterm labor and birth.

The aim of this study was to establish the role of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in the intra-amniotic host response of women with spontaneous preterm labor (sPTL) and birth. Amniotic fluid and chorioamniotic membranes (CAM) were collected from women with sPTL who delivered at term (n = 30) or preterm without intra-amniotic inflammation (n = 34), with sterile intra-amniotic inflammation (SIAI, n = 27), or with intra-amniotic infection (IAI, n = 17). Amnion epithelial cells (AEC), Ureaplasma parvum, and Sneathia spp.

Is there a placental microbiota? A critical review and re-analysis of published placental microbiota datasets.

The existence of a placental microbiota is debated. The human placenta has historically been considered sterile and microbial colonization was associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Yet, recent DNA sequencing investigations reported a microbiota in typical human term placentas.

Microbiota of the Pregnant Mouse: Characterization of the Bacterial Communities in the Oral Cavity, Lung, Intestine, and Vagina through Culture and DNA Sequencing.

Mice are frequently used as animal models for mechanistic studies of infection and obstetrical disease, yet characterization of the murine microbiota during pregnancy is lacking. The objective of this study was to characterize the microbiotas of distinct body sites of the pregnant mouse-vagina, oral cavity, intestine, and lung-that harbor microorganisms that could potentially invade the murine amniotic cavity, thus leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes. The microbiotas of these body sites were characterized through anoxic, hypoxic, and oxic culture as well as through 16S rRNA gene sequencing.