Publications by authors named "Willem M Vos"

The effect of fermented foods on healthy human gut microbiota structure and function, particularly its seasonal preference and frequent long-term consumption, has been largely uncharacterised. Here, we assess the gut microbiota and metabolite composition of 78 healthy Indian agrarian individuals who differ in the intake of fermented milk and soybean products by seasonal sampling during hot-humid summer, autumn and dry winter. Here we show that, seasonal shifts between the Prevotella- and Bifidobacterium/Ruminococcus-driven community types, or ecological states, and associated fatty acid derivatives, with a bimodal change in Bacteroidota community structure during summer, particularly in fermented milk consumers.

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Background: The spectrum of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is highly prevalent, affecting 30% of the world's population, with a significant risk of hepatic and cardiometabolic complications. Different stages of MASLD are accompanied by distinct gut microbial profiles, and several microbial components have been implicated in MASLD pathophysiology. Indeed, earlier studies demonstrated that hepatic necroinflammation was reduced in individuals with MASLD after allogenic faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy donors on a vegan diet.

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There is growing interest in the potential exploitation of the gut microbiome as a diagnostic tool in medicine, but evidence supporting its clinical usefulness is scarce. An increasing number of commercial providers offer direct-to-consumer microbiome diagnostic tests without any consensus on their regulation or any proven value in clinical practice, which could result in considerable waste of individual and health-care resources and potential drawbacks in the clinical management of patients. We convened an international multidisciplinary expert panel to standardise best practices of microbiome testing for clinical implementation, including recommendations on general principles and minimum requirements for their provision, indications, pre-testing protocols, method of analyses, reporting of results, and potential clinical value.

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Over the past years, the gut microbiota and its correlation to health and disease has been studied extensively. In terms of beneficial microbes, an increased interest in () has been observed since its discovery. Direct evidence for the role of in host health has been provided in both mice and human studies.

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The cell matrix of plant foods has received little attention in prebiotic fiber research. We aimed to understand the impact of the plant cell matrix in dried chicory root on its breakdown in the human gut to explain its reported beneficial effects on gut and metabolic health. We applied digestion and fermentation models together with an gut barrier integrity model.

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Article Synopsis
  • The cell-envelope of Gram-negative bacteria contains lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that activate the innate immune system via Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs), particularly TLR4 and TLR2.
  • Akkermansia muciniphila, a beneficial intestinal bacterium, has a unique form of LPS called lipooligosaccharide (LOS) that lacks an O-polysaccharide repeating unit and presents unusual structural features.
  • The study shows that A. muciniphila LOS elicits a stronger anti-inflammatory response by activating TLR2 over TLR4, potentially explaining its positive effects on the host's health.
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The human gut microbiota is central in regulating all facets of host physiology, and in early life it is thought to influence the host's immune system and metabolism, affecting long-term health. However, longitudinally monitored cohorts with parallel analysis of faecal samples and health data are scarce. In our observational study we describe the gut microbiota development in the first 2 years of life and create a gut microbiota wellbeing index based on the microbiota development and health data in a cohort of nearly 1000 infants using clustering and trajectory modelling.

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  • The text discusses how changes in the microbiome can impact chronic diseases and therapies, leading to the development of microbiota-centered treatments like probiotics and faecal microbiota transplantation.
  • It highlights the confusion surrounding the term 'dysbiosis' and the challenge of defining what a 'healthy microbiome' is, questioning which group of individuals truly represents health.
  • The review emphasizes the need for a more nuanced understanding of gut health, considering various individual, dietary, and environmental factors, as well as the complexities in measuring gut function.
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  • - This study tested the effects of a 14-day L2-7 supplement on blood sugar levels in 25 White Dutch men with type 2 diabetes who were already taking metformin.
  • - Results showed that the supplement significantly reduced variations in blood sugar levels and improved blood pressure compared to a placebo, but did not significantly change levels of short-chain fatty acids or bile acids.
  • - While the L2-7 supplement was well-tolerated and effective, the authors suggest that more studies with larger and more diverse groups are needed to confirm these findings.
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  • Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are commonly found in the gut microbiota of infants, contributing to a reservoir of ARGs that evolve as the microbiome develops in early life.
  • A study analyzing 2,328 stool samples from 475 children revealed that infants share more similar gut ARG compositions with their mothers and spouses than with their fathers, indicating family influences on ARG dynamics.
  • The research shows that early gut microbiota development is a significant factor in ARG load, with caesarean-delivered infants having lower ARG levels, highlighting that the typical evolution of gut bacteria has a stronger impact on ARGs than recent antibiotic use.
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  • - The study investigated how changes in gut microbiota might influence the risk of future hospitalization due to infections in two large groups from the Netherlands and Finland, focusing on individuals aged 18-74.
  • - Researchers used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze gut microbiota from participants' fecal samples and looked for links between microbiota characteristics (like diversity and butyrate-producing bacteria) and infection-related health outcomes over a follow-up period of 5-7 years.
  • - The results included data from 10,699 participants, revealing potential relationships between certain microbiota profiles and increased susceptibility to severe infections, although further clarification on these interactions in humans is needed.
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Microbial colonization of the neonatal gut involves maternal seeding, which is partially disrupted in cesarean-born infants and after intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. However, other physically close individuals could complement such seeding. To assess the role of both parents and of induced seeding, we analyzed two longitudinal metagenomic datasets (health and early life microbiota [HELMi]: N = 74 infants, 398 samples, and SECFLOR: N = 7 infants, 35 samples) with cesarean-born infants who received maternal fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).

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Dietary intake of phytate has various reported health benefits. Previous work showed that the gut microbiota can convert phytate to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), but the microbial species and metabolic pathway are unclear. Here we identified Mitsuokella jalaludinii as an efficient phytate degrader, which works synergistically with Anaerostipes rhamnosivorans to produce the SCFA propionate.

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Unlabelled: Alterations in the intestinal microbiota contribute to the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular disorders, but how they affect the development of Kawasaki disease (KD), an acute pediatric vasculitis, remains unclear. We report that depleting the gut microbiota reduces the development of cardiovascular inflammation in a murine model mimicking KD vasculitis. The development of cardiovascular lesions was associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiota composition and, notably, a decreased abundance of and Oral supplementation with either of these live or pasteurized individual bacteria, or with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by them, attenuated cardiovascular inflammation.

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Background: Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), their determinants, infant gut microbiota and health are under extensive research; however, seldom jointly addressed. Leveraging data from the HELMi birth cohort, we investigated them collectively, considering maternal and infant secretor status.

Methods: HMO composition in breastmilk collected 3 months postpartum (n = 350 mothers) was profiled using high-performance liquid chromatography.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigated the defecation patterns of 1052 healthy infants up to 17 weeks old, focusing on factors like stool frequency and color.
  • The findings showed that breastfed infants had more frequent bowel movements, with a peak frequency at 3 weeks, and a significant portion had green stools without indicating health issues.
  • Understanding these patterns helps healthcare providers better identify what is normal in infant bowel habits, clarifying misconceptions about stool color and frequency related to feeding methods.
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The intestinal anaerobic bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila is specialized in the degradation of mucins, which are heavily O-glycosylated proteins that constitute the major components of the mucus lining the intestine. Despite that adhesion to mucins is considered critical for the persistence of A. muciniphila in the human intestinal tract, our knowledge of how this intestinal symbiont recognizes and binds to mucins is still limited.

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Background: There is growing interest in the development of next-generation probiotics to prevent or treat metabolic syndrome. Previous studies suggested that may represent a promising probiotic candidate. A recent human study showed that while supplementation is well tolerated and safe, it resulted in variable responses among individuals with a subset of the subjects significantly benefiting from the treatment.

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Although fecal microbiota composition is considered to preserve relevant and representative information for distal colonic content, it is evident that it does not represent microbial communities inhabiting the small intestine. Nevertheless, studies investigating the human small intestinal microbiome and its response to dietary intervention are still scarce. The current study investigated the spatio-temporal dynamics of the small intestinal microbiome within a day and over 20 days, as well as its responses to a 14-day synbiotic or placebo control supplementation in 20 healthy subjects.

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Our gut microbiota directly influences human physiology in health and disease. The myriad of surface glycoconjugates in both the bacterial cell envelope and our gut cells dominate the microbiota-host interface and play a critical role in host response and microbiota homeostasis. Among these, peptidoglycan is the basic glycan polymer offering the cell rigidity and a basis on which many other glycoconjugates are anchored.

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Background: Intestinal botulism is primarily reported in small babies as a condition known as infant botulism. The condition results from the ingestion of environmental or foodborne spores of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) producing Clostridia, usually Clostridium botulinum, and subsequent spore germination into active botulinum neurotoxinogenic cultures in the gut. It is generally considered that small babies are susceptible to C.

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Metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a growing health problem for which no therapy exists to date. The modulation of the gut microbiome may have treatment potential for MASLD. Here, we investigated , a butyrate-producing anaerobic bacterium with beneficial effects in metabolic syndrome, in a diet-induced MASLD mouse model.

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Stool samples for fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) are collected in large numbers worldwide as part of colorectal cancer screening programs. Employing FIT samples from 1034 CRCbiome participants, recruited from a Norwegian colorectal cancer screening study, we identify, annotate and characterize more than 18000 DNA viruses, using shotgun metagenome sequencing. Only six percent of them are assigned to a known taxonomic family, with Microviridae being the most prevalent viral family.

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Gut - brain communications disorders in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are associated with intestinal microbiota composition, increased gut permeability, and psychosocial disturbances. Symptoms of IBS are difficult to medicate, and hence much research is being made into alternative approaches. This study assesses the potential of a treatment with pasteurized Akkermansia muciniphila for alleviating IBS-like symptoms in two mouse models of IBS with different etiologies.

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