Amish (Rural) vs. non-Amish (Urban) Infant Fecal Microbiotas Are Highly Diverse and Their Transplantation Lead to Differences in Mucosal Immune Maturation in a Humanized Germfree Piglet Model.

The gut microbiome plays an important role in the immune system development, maintenance of normal health status, and in disease progression. In this study, we comparatively examined the fecal microbiomes of Amish (rural) and non-Amish (urban) infants and investigated how they could affect the mucosal immune maturation in germ-free piglets that were inoculated with the two types of infant fecal microbiota (IFM). Differences in microbiome diversity and structure were noted between the two types of fecal microbiotas.

Liposomal nanoparticle-based conserved peptide influenza vaccine and monosodium urate crystal adjuvant elicit protective immune response in pigs.

Background: Influenza (flu) is a constant threat to humans and animals, and vaccination is one of the most effective ways to mitigate the disease. Due to incomplete protection induced by current flu vaccines, development of novel flu vaccine candidates is warranted to achieve greater efficacy against constantly evolving flu viruses.

Methods: In the present study, we used liposome nanoparticle (<200 nm diameter)-based subunit flu vaccine containing ten encapsulated highly conserved B and T cell epitope peptides to induce protective immune response against a zoonotic swine influenza A virus (SwIAV) H1N1 challenge infection in a pig model.