Project description:We found that low protein diet consumption resulted in decrease in the percentage of normal Paneth cell population in wild type mice, indicating that low protein diet could negatively affect Paneth cell function. We performed fecal microbiota composition profiling. Male mice were used at 4-5 weeks of age. Fecal samples were collected for microbiome analysis.
Project description:We found that western diet consumption resulted in decrease in the percentage of normal Paneth cell population in wild type mice, indicating that western diet could negatively affect Paneth cell function. Subsequent generations of western diet consumption further reduced percentages of normal Paneth cell population. We performed fecal microbiota composition profiling. Male mice were used at 4-5 weeks of age. Fecal samples were collected for microbiome analysis.
Project description:Camelids are capable of producing both conventional tetrameric antibodies (Abs) and dimeric heavy-chain antibodies (HCAbs). While B cells generating these two types of Abs exhibit distinct B-cell receptors (BCRs), it remains unclear whether these two B cell populations differ in their phenotypes and developmental processes. Here, we collected eight PBMC samples before and after immunization from four Bactrian camels and conducted single-cell 5’ RNA sequencing. We characterized the functional subtypes and differentiation trajectories of circulating B cells in camels, including native B cells, memory B cells, intermediate B cells, atypical B cells, and plasma cells. Additionally, we reconstructed single-cell BCR sequences and revealed the IGHV and IGHC gene types. We found that B cells with variable genes of HACbs (VHH) were widely present in various functional subtypes and showed highly overlapping differentiation trajectories to B cells with variable genes of conventional Abs (VH). After immunization, the transcriptional changes in VHH+ and VH+ B cells were also largely consistent. Our study not only elucidates the cellular context of HCAb production in camels, but also lays the foundation for the development of single B cell-based nanobody screening.
Project description:The domestic Bactrian camels were treated as one of the principal means of locomotion between the eastern and western cultures in history. However, whether they originated from East Asia or Central Asia remains elusive. To address this question, we perform whole-genome sequencing of 128 camels across Asia. The extant wild and domestic Bactrian camels show remarkable genetic divergence, as they were split from dromedaries. The wild Bactrian camels also contribute little to the ancestry of domestic ones, although they share close habitat in East Asia. Interestingly, among the domestic Bactrian camels, those from Iran exhibit the largest genetic distance and the earliest split from all others in the phylogeny, despite evident admixture between domestic Bactrian camels and dromedaries living in Central Asia. Taken together, our study support the Central Asian origin of domestic Bactrian camels, which were then immigrated eastward to Mongolia where native wild Bactrian camels inhabit.
Project description:Opioids such as morphine have many beneficial properties as analgesics, however, opioids may induce multiple adverse gastrointestinal symptoms. We have recently demonstrated that morphine treatment results in significant disruption in gut barrier function leading to increased translocation of gut commensal bacteria. However, it is unclear how opioids modulate the gut homeostasis. By using a mouse model of morphine treatment, we studied effects of morphine treatment on gut microbiome. We characterized phylogenetic profiles of gut microbes, and found a significant shift in the gut microbiome and increase of pathogenic bacteria following morphine treatment when compared to placebo. In the present study, wild type mice (C57BL/6J) were implanted with placebo, morphine pellets subcutaneously. Fecal matter were taken for bacterial 16s rDNA sequencing analysis at day 3 post treatment. A scatter plot based on an unweighted UniFrac distance matrics obtained from the sequences at OTU level with 97% similarity showed a distinct clustering of the community composition between the morphine and placebo treated groups. By using the chao1 index to evaluate alpha diversity (that is diversity within a group) and using unweighted UniFrac distance to evaluate beta diversity (that is diversity between groups, comparing microbial community based on compositional structures), we found that morphine treatment results in a significant decrease in alpha diversity and shift in fecal microbiome at day 3 post treatment compared to placebo treatment. Taxonomical analysis showed that morphine treatment results in a significant increase of potential pathogenic bacteria. Our study shed light on effects of morphine on the gut microbiome, and its role in the gut homeostasis.
Project description:Morphine causes microbial dysbiosis. In this study we focused on restoration of native microbiota in morphine treated mice and looked at the extent of restoration and immunological consequences of this restoration. Fecal transplant has been successfully used clinically, especially for treating C. difficile infection2528. With our expanding knowledge of the central role of microbiome in maintenance of host immune homeostasis17, fecal transplant is gaining importance as a therapy for indications resulting from microbial dysbiosis. There is a major difference between fecal transplant being used for the treatment of C. difficile infection and the conditions described in our studies. The former strategy is based on the argument that microbial dysbiosis caused by disproportionate overgrowth of a pathobiont can be out-competed by re-introducing the missing flora by way of a normal microbiome transplant. This strategy is independent of host factors and systemic effects on the microbial composition. Here, we show that microbial dysbiosis caused due to morphine can be reversed by transplantation of microbiota from the placebo-treated animals.