Introduction: Disparities in incidence and outcome of rectal cancer are multifactorial in etiology but may be due, in part, to differences in gut microbiome composition. We used serial robust statistical approaches to assess baseline gut microbiome composition in a diverse cohort of patients with rectal cancer receiving definitive treatment.
Methods: Microbiome composition was compared by age at diagnosis (< 50 vs ≥ 50 years), race and ethnicity (White Hispanic vs non-Hispanic), and response to therapy.
Gut microbiota, specifically gut bacteria, are critical for effective immune checkpoint blockade therapy (ICT) for cancer. The mechanisms by which gut microbiota augment extraintestinal anticancer immune responses, however, are largely unknown. Here, we find that ICT induces the translocation of specific endogenous gut bacteria into secondary lymphoid organs and subcutaneous melanoma tumors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Children with short bowel syndrome (SBS) frequently struggle with malabsorption and poor growth. The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in gut function, and children with SBS have known deficiencies in some commensal gut microbes. One strategy to enhance the gut microbiota is by taking probiotics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Characterise gut microbiota distributions of participants with co-occurring depression and anxiety, in those with only depression or with anxiety, and determine if gut bacteria differentially correlates with distinct clinical presentations.
Methods: Participants (10 healthy controls [mean age: 33, 60% female] and 60 psychiatric subjects; major depressive disorder (comorbid with anxiety), n = 38 [mean age: 39.2, 82% female], anxiety only, n = 8 [mean age: 40.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are critical for the differentiation of pathogen-specific CD4 T cells. However, to what extent innate cues from DCs dictate transcriptional changes in T cells remains elusive. Here, we used DCs stimulated with specific pathogens to prime CD4 T cells in vitro and found that these T cells express unique transcriptional profiles dictated by the nature of the priming pathogen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis is the first prospective study of the effects of human gut microbiota and metabolites on immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICT) response in metastatic melanoma patients. Whereas many melanoma patients exhibit profound response to ICT, there are fewer options for patients failing ICT-particularly with BRAF-wild-type disease. In preclinical studies, specific gut microbiota promotes regression of melanoma in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult stem cell transplantation (SCT) patients with graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) exhibit significant disruptions in gut microbial communities. These changes are associated with higher overall mortality and appear to be driven by specific antibiotic therapies. It is unclear whether pediatric SCT patients who develop GVHD exhibit similar antibiotic-induced gut microbiota community changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr
September 2017
Background: Children with short bowel syndrome (SBS) can vary significantly in their growth trajectory. Recent data have shown that children with SBS possess a unique gut microbiota signature compared with healthy controls. We hypothesized that children with SBS and poor growth would exhibit more severe gut microbiota dysbiosis compared with those with SBS who are growing adequately, despite similar intestinal anatomy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial-fungal interactions have important physiologic and medical ramifications, but the mechanisms of these interactions are poorly understood. The gut is host to trillions of microorganisms, and bacterial-fungal interactions are likely to be important. Using a neutropenic mouse model of microbial gastrointestinal colonization and dissemination, we show that the fungus Candida albicans inhibits the virulence of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa by inhibiting P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCandida albicans colonization is required for invasive disease. Unlike humans, adult mice with mature intact gut microbiota are resistant to C. albicans gastrointestinal (GI) colonization, but the factors that promote C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransgenic crops producing toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) kill insect pests and can reduce reliance on insecticide sprays. Although Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and Bt corn (Zea mays L.
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