Fasting breath H2 and gut microbiota metabolic potential are associated with the response to a fermented milk product in irritable bowel syndrome.

Objectives: Aim of this study was to assess the effect of a fermented milk product containing Bifidobacterium lactis CNCM I-2494 (FMP) on gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and exhaled H2 and CH4 during a nutrient and lactulose challenge in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Methods: We included 125 patients with IBS (Rome III). Fasted subjects were served a 400ml liquid test meal containing 25g lactulose.

A Data Integration Multi-Omics Approach to Study Calorie Restriction-Induced Changes in Insulin Sensitivity.

The mechanisms responsible for calorie restriction (CR)-induced improvement in insulin sensitivity (IS) have not been fully elucidated. Greater insight can be achieved through deep biological phenotyping of subjects undergoing CR, and integration of big data. An integrative approach was applied to investigate associations between change in IS and factors from host, microbiota, and lifestyle after a 6-week CR period in 27 overweight or obese adults (ClinicalTrials.

Brain Structure and Response to Emotional Stimuli as Related to Gut Microbial Profiles in Healthy Women.

Objective: Brain-gut-microbiota interactions may play an important role in human health and behavior. Although rodent models have demonstrated effects of the gut microbiota on emotional, nociceptive, and social behaviors, there is little translational human evidence to date. In this study, we identify brain and behavioral characteristics of healthy women clustered by gut microbiota profiles.

Identification of an Intestinal Microbiota Signature Associated With Severity of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Background & Aims: We have limited knowledge about the association between the composition of the intestinal microbiota and clinical features of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We collected information on the fecal and mucosa-associated microbiota of patients with IBS and evaluated whether these were associated with symptoms.

Methods: We collected fecal and mucosal samples from adult patients who met the Rome III criteria for IBS at a secondary/tertiary care outpatient clinics in Sweden, as well as from healthy subjects.

MixMC: A Multivariate Statistical Framework to Gain Insight into Microbial Communities.

Culture independent techniques, such as shotgun metagenomics and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing have dramatically changed the way we can examine microbial communities. Recently, changes in microbial community structure and dynamics have been associated with a growing list of human diseases. The identification and comparison of bacteria driving those changes requires the development of sound statistical tools, especially if microbial biomarkers are to be used in a clinical setting.

Ecological robustness of the gut microbiota in response to ingestion of transient food-borne microbes.

Resident gut microbes co-exist with transient bacteria to form the gut microbiota. Despite increasing evidence suggesting a role for transient microbes on gut microbiota function, the interplay between resident and transient members of this microbial community is poorly defined. We aimed to determine the extent to which a host's autochthonous gut microbiota influences niche permissivity to transient bacteria using a fermented milk product (FMP) as a vehicle for five food-borne bacterial strains.

Lactulose Challenge Determines Visceral Sensitivity and Severity of Symptoms in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Background & Aims: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be assigned to groups with different gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms based on results from a combined nutrient and lactulose challenge. We aimed to identify factors that predict outcomes to this challenge and to determine whether this can be used in noninvasive assessment of visceral sensitivity in patients with IBS.

Methods: We performed a prospective study of 100 patients with IBS diagnosed according to Rome III criteria (all subtypes) and seen at a secondary or tertiary care center.

Calcium requirements from dairy foods in France can be met at low energy and monetary cost.

Inadequate Ca intakes are a concern for global public health. In France, most dietary Ca is provided by dairy products: milks, fermented milks (mostly yogurts), dairy desserts and cheeses. The present dairy database (n 837) included milks (n 101), fermented milks, yogurts and other fresh dairy products (n 326), desserts (n 162) and a wide variety of cheeses (n 248).

Dietary patterns differently associate with inflammation and gut microbiota in overweight and obese subjects.

Background: Associations between dietary patterns, metabolic and inflammatory markers and gut microbiota are yet to be elucidated.

Objectives: We aimed to characterize dietary patterns in overweight and obese subjects and evaluate the different dietary patterns in relation to metabolic and inflammatory variables as well as gut microbiota.

Design: Dietary patterns, plasma and adipose tissue markers, and gut microbiota were evaluated in a group of 45 overweight and obese subjects (6 men and 39 women).

Changes of the human gut microbiome induced by a fermented milk product.

The gut microbiota (GM) consists of resident commensals and transient microbes conveyed by the diet but little is known about the role of the latter on GM homeostasis. Here we show, by a conjunction of quantitative metagenomics, in silico genome reconstruction and metabolic modeling, that consumption of a fermented milk product containing dairy starters and Bifidobacterium animalis potentiates colonic short chain fatty acids production and decreases abundance of a pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia compared to a milk product in subjects with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, n = 28). The GM changes parallel improvement of IBS state, suggesting a role of the fermented milk bacteria in gut homeostasis.

Fermented dairy products modulate Citrobacter rodentium-induced colonic hyperplasia.

We evaluated the protective effects of fermented dairy products (FDPs) in an infection model, using the mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium (CR). Treatment of mice with FDP formulas A, B, and C or a control product did not affect CR colonization, organ specificity, or attaching and effacing lesion formation. Fermented dairy product A (FDP-A), but neither the supernatant from FDP-A nor β-irradiated (IR) FDP-A, caused a significant reduction in colonic crypt hyperplasia and CR-associated pathology.