Bringing Vitamin D and the Vitamin D Receptor into the Limelight.

Classically, vitamin D is known to regulate skeletal and mineral ion homeostasis [...

Fighting the invisible foe in cancer therapy.

In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Huang et al. determine that an oncogenic bacterium contributes to colorectal cancer progression and resistance to receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These findings highlight the need for an integrative approach for cancer treatment that considers the influence of the microbiome.

Pretreating and normalizing metabolomics data for statistical analysis.

Metabolomics as a research field and a set of techniques is to study the entire small molecules in biological samples. Metabolomics is emerging as a powerful tool generally for precision medicine. Particularly, integration of microbiome and metabolome has revealed the mechanism and functionality of microbiome in human health and disease.

Conditional Vitamin D Receptor Deletion Induces Fungal and Archaeal Dysbiosis and Altered Metabolites.

A vitamin D receptor (VDR) deficiency leads to the dysbiosis of intestinal bacteria and is associated with various diseases, including cancer, infections, and inflammatory bowel disease. However, the impact of a VDR deficiency on fungi and archaea is unknown. We conditionally deleted the VDR in Paneth cells (VDR), intestinal epithelial cells (VDR), or myeloid cells (VDR) in mice and collected feces for shotgun metagenomic sequencing and untargeted metabolomics.

Axin1's mystique in manipulating microbiome amidst colitis.

Classically, Axin1 is considered a regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. However, Axin1's roles in host-microbial interactions have been unknown. Our recent study has demonstrated that deletion of intestinal epithelial Axin1 in epithelial cells and Paneth cells protects the host against colitis by enhancing .

Oncogenic potential of infection in the gastrointestinal tract: narrative review.

Background: is the leading cause of zoonotic gastroenteritis. The other emerging group of spp. are part of human oral commensal, represented by (CC), which has been recently linked to non-oral conditions.

Microbiome and intestinal pathophysiology in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19.

Long COVID, also known for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, describes the people who have the signs and symptoms that continue or develop after the acute COVID-19 phase. Long COVID patients suffer from an inflammation or host responses towards the virus approximately 4 weeks after initial infection with the SARS CoV-2 virus and continue for an uncharacterized duration. Anyone infected with COVID-19 before could experience long-COVID conditions, including the patients who were infected with SARS CoV-2 virus confirmed by tests and those who never knew they had an infection early.

Myeloid vitamin D receptor regulates Paneth cells and microbial homeostasis.

Cross talk between immune cells and the intestinal crypt is critical in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Recent studies highlight the direct impact of vitamin D receptor (VDR) signaling on intestinal and microbial homeostasis. However, the tissue-specific role of immune VDR signaling is not fully understood.

Intestinal vitamin D receptor protects against extraintestinal breast cancer tumorigenesis.

The microbiota plays critical roles in regulating the function and health of the intestine and extraintestinal organs. A fundamental question is whether an intestinal-microbiome-breast axis exists during the development of breast cancer. If so, what are the roles of host factors? Vitamin D receptor (VDR) involves host factors and the human microbiome.

Disruption to tRNA Modification by Queuine Contributes to Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Backgrounds And Aims: Transfer RNA (tRNA) is the most extensively modified RNA in cells. Queuosine modification is a fundamental process for ensuring the fidelity and efficiency of translation from RNA to protein. In eukaryotes, Queuosine tRNA (Q-tRNA) modification relies on the intestinal microbial product queuine.

Effects of Melanized Bacteria and Soluble Melanin on the Intestinal Homeostasis and Microbiome In Vivo.

Radiation damage is associated with inflammation and immunity in the intestinal mucosa, including gut microbiota. Melanin has a unique capacity to coordinate a biological reaction in response to environmental stimuli, such as radiation exposure. Thus, melanin and melanized microbes have potential to be used for mitigation of injury induced by radiation.

Endosomal Sorting Protein SNX27 and Its Emerging Roles in Human Cancers.

SNX27 belongs to the sorting nexin (SNX) family of proteins that play a critical role in protein sorting and trafficking in the endocytosis pathway. This protein family is characterized by the presence of a Phox (PX) domain; however, SNX27 is unique in containing an additional PDZ domain. Recently, SNX27 has gained popularity as an important sorting protein that is associated with the retromer complex and mediates the recycling of internalized proteins from endosomes to the plasma membrane in a PDZ domain-dependent manner.

Repetitive non-typhoidal Salmonella exposure is an environmental risk factor for colon cancer and tumor growth.

During infection, Salmonella hijacks essential host signaling pathways. These molecular manipulations disrupt cellular integrity and may induce oncogenic transformation. Systemic S.

Bacterial translocation and barrier dysfunction enhance colonic tumorigenesis.

In the development of colon cancer, the intestinal dysbiosis and disruption of barrier function are common manifestations. In the current study, we hypothesized that host factors, e.g.

A Gut Feeling in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Microbiome of Mice and Men.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a severely debilitating disease characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons. ALS etiology and pathophysiology are not well understood. It could be the consequences of complex interactions among host factors, microbiome, and the environmental factors.

Vitamin D receptor upregulates tight junction protein claudin-5 against colitis-associated tumorigenesis.

Tight junctions are essential for barrier integrity, inflammation, and cancer. Vitamin D and the vitamin D receptor (VDR) play important roles in colorectal cancer (CRC). Using the human CRC database, we found colonic VDR expression was low and significantly correlated with a reduction of Claudin-5 mRNA and protein.

Impact of bacterial infection and intestinal microbiome on colorectal cancer development.

Accumulating evidence suggests that intestinal bacteria play an important role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Due to the complexity of the intestinal microbiome, identification of the specific causative microbial agents in CRC remains challenging, and the search for the causative microbial agents is intense. However, whether bacteria or their products can induce inflammation that results in tumorigenesis or directly causes CRC in humans is still not clear.

Comparison between handheld ultrasound and regional and whole-body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for body fat assessment.

Objectives: To determine the extent of agreement between a handheld ultrasound (US) attached to an android tablet and the reference method dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for the measurement of adiposity.

Methods: A whole-body DXA scan and abdominal adipose tissue thickness measurements using a handheld US were obtained from 104 adults (63 females, 41 males). Body fat percent (BF%), total fat mass (kg), and trunk fat mass (kg) were obtained from DXA.

Overexpression of Vitamin D Receptor in Intestinal Epithelia Protects Against Colitis via Upregulating Tight Junction Protein Claudin 15.

Background And Aims: Dysfunction of the vitamin D receptor [VDR] contributes to the aetiology of IBD by regulating autophagy, immune response, and mucosal permeability. VDR directly controls the paracellular tight junction protein Claudin-2. Claudin-2 and Claudin-15 are unique in maintaining paracellular permeability.

Gastrointestinal symptoms, pathophysiology, and treatment in COVID-19.

The novel coronavirus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged and is responsible for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 global pandemic. Coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, are strongly associated with respiratory symptoms during infection, but gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain, have been identified in subsets of COVID-19 patients. This article focuses on gastrointestinal symptoms and pathophysiology in COVID-19 disease.