INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES TO POLYMICROBIAL INTRA-ABDOMINAL SEPSIS ARE HIGHLY VARIABLE BUT STRONGLY CORRELATED TO ENTEROBACTERIACEAE OUTGROWTH.

Sepsis is a common, heterogeneous, and frequently lethal condition of organ dysfunction and immune dysregulation due to infection. The causes of its heterogeneity, including the contribution of the pathogen, remain unknown. Using cecal slurry, a widely used murine model of intraperitoneal polymicrobial sepsis, as well as 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and measurement of immune markers, we performed a series of translational analyses to determine whether microbial variation in cecal slurry composition (representing intra-abdominal pathogens) mediated variation in septic response.

Commensal Oral Microbiota, Disease Severity, and Mortality in Fibrotic Lung Disease.

Oral microbiota associate with diseases of the mouth and serve as a source of lung microbiota. However, the role of oral microbiota in lung disease is unknown. To determine associations between oral microbiota and disease severity and death in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

In critically ill patients, anti-anaerobic antibiotics increase risk of adverse clinical outcomes.

Background: Critically ill patients routinely receive antibiotics with activity against anaerobic gut bacteria. However, in other disease states and animal models, gut anaerobes are protective against pneumonia, organ failure and mortality. We therefore designed a translational series of analyses and experiments to determine the effects of anti-anaerobic antibiotics on the risk of adverse clinical outcomes among critically ill patients.