Mouse strain-specific responses along the gut-brain axis upon fecal microbiota transplantation from children with autism.

Several factors are linked to the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, the molecular mechanisms of the condition remain unknown. As intestinal problems and gut microbiota dysbiosis are associated with ASD development and severity, recent studies have focused on elucidating the microbiota-gut-brain axis' involvement. This study aims to explore mechanisms through which gut microbiota might influence ASD.

Association of blood inflammatory phenotypes and asthma burden in children with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Background: Underlying immunological mechanisms in children with moderate-to-severe asthma are complex and unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between blood inflammatory parameters and asthma burden in children with moderate-to-severe asthma.

Methods: Blood inflammatory parameters (eosinophil and neutrophil counts and inflammatory mediators using multiplex immunoassay technology) were measured in children (6-17 years) with moderate-to-severe asthma from the SysPharmPediA cohort across four European countries.

Using Participatory Narrative Inquiry to Assess Experiences and Self-Experimentation with Diet Interventions in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients.

Background And Aims: To improve quality of life (QoL), patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) often self-experiment with lifestyle changes such as dietary modifications. The nature (e.g.

Keeping pace in the age of innovation: The perspective of Dutch pharmaceutical science students on the position of machine learning training in an undergraduate curriculum.

Background: Over the years, approaches of the pharmaceutical industry to discover and develop drugs have changed rapidly due to new scientific trends. Among others, they have started to explore Machine Learning (ML), a subset of Artificial Intelligence (AI), as a promising tool to generate new hypotheses regarding drug candidate selections for clinical trials and to predict adverse side effects. Despite these recent developments, the possibilities of ML in pharmaceutical sciences have so far hardly penetrated the training of pharmaceutical science students.

A synbiotic mixture of M16-V, oligosaccharides and pectin, enhances Short Chain Fatty Acid production and improves lung health in a preclinical model for pulmonary neutrophilia.

Introduction: Pulmonary neutrophilia is a hallmark of numerous airway diseases including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Neutrophilic asthma, Acute Lung Injury (ALI), Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and COVID-19. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of dietary interventions on lung health in context of pulmonary neutrophilia.

Methods: Male BALB/cByJ mice received 7 intra-nasal doses of either a vehicle or lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Buty and the beast: the complex role of butyrate in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease which is often associated with gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction. The GI tract is home to a wide range of microorganisms, among which bacteria, that can influence the host through various mechanisms. Products produced by these bacteria can act in the gut but can also exert effects in the brain via what is now well established to be the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Food, nutrition, and autism: from soil to fork.

Food and nutrition-related factors have the potential to impact development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and quality of life for people with ASD, but gaps in evidence exist. On 10 November 2022, Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute hosted a 1-d meeting to explore the evidence and evidence gaps regarding the relationships of food and nutrition with ASD. This meeting report summarizes the presentations and deliberations from the meeting.

Prebiotic diet normalizes aberrant immune and behavioral phenotypes in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a cluster of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in communication and behavior. Increasing evidence suggests that the microbiota-gut-brain axis and the likely related immune imbalance may play a role in the development of this disorder. Gastrointestinal deficits and gut microbiota dysfunction have been linked to the development or severity of autistic behavior.

Methodology for biomarker discovery with reproducibility in microbiome data using machine learning.

Background: In recent years, human microbiome studies have received increasing attention as this field is considered a potential source for clinical applications. With the advancements in omics technologies and AI, research focused on the discovery for potential biomarkers in the human microbiome using machine learning tools has produced positive outcomes. Despite the promising results, several issues can still be found in these studies such as datasets with small number of samples, inconsistent results, lack of uniform processing and methodologies, and other additional factors lead to lack of reproducibility in biomedical research.

A robust mRNA signature obtained via recursive ensemble feature selection predicts the responsiveness of omalizumab in moderate-to-severe asthma.

Background: Not being well controlled by therapy with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2 agonist bronchodilators is a major concern for severe-asthma patients. The current treatment option for these patients is the use of biologicals such as anti-IgE treatment, omalizumab, as an add-on therapy. Despite the accepted use of omalizumab, patients do not always benefit from it.

An Innovative AI-based primer design tool for precise and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, it leaves behind the serious concern that future, even more disruptive pandemics may eventually surface. One of the crucial steps in handling the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was being able to detect the presence of the virus in an accurate and timely manner, to then develop policies counteracting the spread. Nevertheless, as the pandemic evolved, new variants with potentially dangerous mutations appeared.

The relationship between immune fitness and saliva biomarkers of systemic inflammation.

Purpose: It is vital that Immune fitness, i.e., how well the immune system functions and reacts to challenges, can be reliably be examined.

Nigrostriatal 6-hydroxydopamine lesions increase alpha-synuclein levels and permeability in rat colon.

Increasing evidence suggests that the gut-brain axis plays a crucial role in Parkinson's disease (PD). The abnormal accumulation of aggregated alpha-synuclein (aSyn) in the brain is a key pathological feature of PD. Intracerebral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a widely used dopaminergic lesion model of PD.

A multiscale hybrid model for exploring the effect of Resolvin D1 on macrophage polarization during acute inflammation.

Dysregulated inflammation underlies various diseases. Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) like Resolvin D1 (RvD1) have been shown to resolve inflammation and halt disease progression. Macrophages, key immune cells that drive inflammation, respond to the presence of RvD1 by polarizing to an anti-inflammatory type (M).

Reduced Immune Fitness and Job Performance: Absenteeism, Presenteeism, and Associated Costs for the Dutch Economy.

Reduced immune fitness can have a significant negative impact on work performance. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of reduced immune fitness on job performance and associated costs for the Dutch economy. Data from = 425 Dutch working adults (18-65 years old) who completed an online survey were analyzed to evaluate the number of days of absenteeism (not going to work) and presenteeism (working while sick) due to reduced immune fitness, and the performance level on days worked with reduced immune fitness.

Amino Acid-Metabolizing Enzymes in Advanced High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Patients: Value of Ascites as Biomarker Source and Role for IL4I1 and IDO1.

The molecular mechanisms contributing to immune suppression in ovarian cancer are not well understood, hampering the successful application of immunotherapy. Amino acid-metabolizing enzymes are known to contribute to the immune-hostile environment of various tumors through depletion of amino acids and production of immunosuppressive metabolites. We aimed to collectively evaluate the activity of these enzymes in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patients by performing targeted metabolomics on plasma and ascites samples.

Epithelial-derived galectin-9 containing exosomes contribute to the immunomodulatory effects promoted by 2'-fucosyllactose and short-chain galacto- and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides.

Introduction: Early life exposure to non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO) or microbial components is known to affect immune development. NDO in combination with a TLR9 agonist mimicking bacterial triggers (CpG) promoted the secretion of galectins through unknown pathways. We aimed to study the contribution of exosomes in epithelial galectin secretion and subsequent immunoregulation upon exposure to a mixture of NDO by inhibiting exosome biogenesis.

The Assessment of Immune Fitness.

Immune fitness (i.e., adequate functioning of the immune system) is essential to maintain health, prevent and resolve disease, and improve quality of life.

The interaction between intestinal bacterial metabolites and phosphatase and tensin homolog in autism spectrum disorder.

Intestinal bacteria-associated para-cresyl sulfate (pCS) and 4-ethylphenyl sulfate (4EPS) are elevated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both metabolites can induce ASD-like behaviors in mice, but the molecular mechanisms are not known. Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a susceptibility gene for ASD.