Publications by authors named "Laura Martinez-Gili"

Objective: To evaluate South Asian (SA) and White (WH) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) phenotypes, and to explore treatment approach variations between these cohorts in the UK using the IBD BioResource database.

Design: Differences between WH and SA IBD patients were analysed using demographic, phenotypic and outcome data. Drug utilisation patterns and surgical outcomes were assessed in propensity score-matched (PSM) cohorts with multivariable logistic regression, Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis.

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  • The human ileum has a lot of L-cells that produce hormones like GLP-1 and PYY, which help suppress appetite when we eat.
  • A study explored how different diets (high-fiber vs. low-fiber) affect the release of these hormones and their connection to food structure and ileal metabolites.
  • Results showed that high-fiber diets significantly boosted PYY release compared to low-fiber, and the study found changes in the ileum's molecular environment after eating, linking it to appetite regulation.
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The gut microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Histidine is a key energy source for the microbiota, scavenging it from the host. Its role in NAFLD is poorly known.

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  • Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is being explored as a way to enhance the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors in treating advanced melanoma, but its use in initial treatments was previously untested.
  • A phase I trial involving 20 untreated melanoma patients showed that FMT combined with PD-1 inhibitors (nivolumab or pembrolizumab) was safe, with no severe adverse events from FMT alone, although some patients experienced immune-related side effects.
  • The trial found a 65% objective response rate, with changes in gut microbiome observed, indicating that successful treatments were linked to beneficial bacterial changes after FMT, suggesting that this approach should be studied further in conjunction with immune therapies.
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Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as first-line treatment. Poor response to UDCA is associated with a higher risk of progressing to cirrhosis, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. UDCA modulates the composition of primary and bacterial-derived bile acids (BAs).

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Background: Factors influencing recurrence risk in primary Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) are poorly understood, and tools predicting recurrence are lacking. Perturbations in bile acids (BAs) contribute to CDI pathogenesis and may be relevant to primary disease prognosis.

Aims: To define stool BA dynamics in patients with primary CDI and to explore signatures predicting recurrence METHODS: Weekly stool samples were collected from patients with primary CDI from the last day of anti-CDI therapy until recurrence or, otherwise, through 8 weeks post-completion.

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Intestinal microbiota plays a key role in shaping host homeostasis by regulating metabolism, immune responses and behavior. Its dysregulation has been associated with metabolic, immune and neuropsychiatric disorders and is accompanied by changes in bacterial metabolic regulation. Although proteomics is well suited for analysis of individual microbes, metaproteomics of fecal samples is challenging due to the physical structure of the sample, presence of contaminating host proteins and coexistence of hundreds of taxa.

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  • Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are linked to imbalances in gut microbiota and metabolites, specifically the presence of the microbial metabolite p-Cresol, which is higher in ASD patients.
  • In a study, mice exposed to p-Cresol displayed social behavior deficits and other ASD-like symptoms, indicating a potential connection between p-Cresol and these behaviors through altered central dopamine activity.
  • The research suggests that changes in microbiota composition play a role in the social behavior deficits caused by p-Cresol, and identifies potential for microbiota-targeted therapies for treating ASD.
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Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a highly-effective therapy for recurrent infection (rCDI), and shows promise for certain non-CDI indications. However, at present, its mechanisms of efficacy have remained poorly understood. Recent studies by our laboratory have noted the particular key importance of restoration of gut microbe-metabolite interactions in the ability of FMT to treat rCDI, including the impact of FMT upon short chain fatty acid (SCFAs) and bile acid metabolism.

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There is extensive information of the beneficial effects of virgin olive oil (VOO), especially on cardiovascular diseases. Some VOO healthy properties have been attributed to their phenolic-compounds (PCs). The aim of this review is to present updated data on the effects of olive oil (OO) PCs on the gut microbiota, lipid metabolism, immune system, and obesity, as well as on the crosstalk among them.

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The human gut is a home for more than 100 trillion bacteria, far more than all other microbial populations resident on the body's surface. The human gut microbiome is considered as a microbial organ symbiotically operating within the host. It is a collection of different cell lineages that are capable of communicating with each other and the host and has an ability to undergo self-replication for its repair and maintenance.

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Objectives: The Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) is a widely expressed RNA-binding protein involved in translation regulation. Since the absence of FMRP leads to Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and autism, FMRP has been extensively studied in brain. The functions of FMRP in peripheral organs and on metabolic homeostasis remain elusive; therefore, we sought to investigate the systemic consequences of its absence.

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In the version of this article originally published, the received date was missing. It should have been listed as 2 January 2018. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of this article.

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Hepatic steatosis is a multifactorial condition that is often observed in obese patients and is a prelude to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Here, we combine shotgun sequencing of fecal metagenomes with molecular phenomics (hepatic transcriptome and plasma and urine metabolomes) in two well-characterized cohorts of morbidly obese women recruited to the FLORINASH study. We reveal molecular networks linking the gut microbiome and the host phenome to hepatic steatosis.

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