Commensal microbiota regulate aldosterone.

The gut microbiome regulates many important host physiological processes associated with cardiovascular health and disease; however, the impact of the gut microbiome on aldosterone is unclear. Investigating whether gut microbiota regulate aldosterone can offer novel insights into how the microbiome affects blood pressure. In this study, we aimed to determine whether gut microbiota regulate host aldosterone.

Early Life Stress in Mice Leads to Impaired Colonic Corticosterone Production and Prolonged Inflammation Following Induction of Colitis.

Background: Early life stress (ELS) is an environmental trigger believed to promote increased risk of IBD. Our goal was to identify mechanisms whereby ELS in mice affects susceptibility to and/or severity of gut inflammation.

Methods: We utilized 2 published animal models of ELS.

ICOS ligand and IL-10 synergize to promote host-microbiota mutualism.

Genome-wide association studies have identified , which encodes the inducible costimulator igand (ICOSLG or ICOSL) as a susceptibility locus for inflammatory bowel disease. ICOSL has been implicated in the enhancement of pattern recognition receptor signaling in dendritic cells, induction of IL-10 production by CD4 T cells, and the generation of high-affinity antibodies to specific antigens-all of which can potentially explain its involvement in gastrointestinal inflammation. Here, we show that murine ICOSL deficiency results in significant enrichment of IL-10-producing CD4 T cells particularly in the proximal large intestine.