Project description:The intestinal microbiome was examined from fecal pellets of animals with genetic targeting of the BTLA inhibitory receptor and the TNFR superfamily member HVEM, or in animals treated with agonist antibodies specific for BTLA.
Project description:Background and aims: Gene mutations or variants leading to insufficient reactive oxygen species (ROS) production have been associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In particular, 40-50% of patients with chronic granulomatous disease have IBD (CGD-IBD). CGD is caused by inherited defects in any one of the 5 subunits forming the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase complex 2 (NOX2), leading to severely reduced or absent phagocyte-derived ROS production. While conventional IBD therapies can treat CGD-IBD, their benefits must be weighed against the risk of infection in this immune compromised population. Understanding the impact of NOX2 defects on the composition and function of the intestinal microbiota may lead to the identification of treatments for CGD-IBD. Methods: We evaluated GI symptom and quality of life scores, and clinical biomarkers of local (i.e. fecal occult blood and calprotectin) and systemic (i.e. CBC, CRP, ESR, and albumin) inflammation in a cohort of 79 patients with CGD, 8 mutation carriers and 17 healthy controls followed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We profiled the intestinal microbiome by 16S rRNA (V4 region) sequencing and the stool metabolome by mass spectrometry in all fecal samples, and further validated our findings by profiling the stool microbiome in a second cohort of 36 patients with CGD recruited from 11 centers across North-America through the Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium (PIDTC). Predictive functional profiling of the microbial communities based on 16S rRNA sequencing was also performed. Results: After controlling for significant variables, we show decreased alpha diversity and identified distinct intestinal microbiome and metabolomic profiles in patients with CGD compared to healthy individuals. In particular, we observed enrichment for Erysipelatoclostridium spp., Sellimonas spp. and Lachnoclostridium spp. in stool samples from patients with CGD. Despite differences in alpha and beta diversity in samples from the NIH compared to the PIDTC cohort, there were several bacterial taxa that correlated significantly between both cohorts. We further demonstrate that patients with active IBD and/or a history of IBD have a distinct microbiome and metabolomic profile compared to patients without CGD-IBD and identified bacterial taxa to be evaluated as potential markers of disease severity, as well as targets for future therapeutic interventions. Conclusions: Intestinal microbiome and metabolomic signatures distinguished patients with CGD and CGD-IBD and identified microbial and metabolomic candidates to be further evaluated as potential targets to improve the management of patients with CGD-IBD.
Project description:Objectives: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is related to repeated upper airway collapse, intermittent hypoxia, and intestinal barrier dysfunction. The resulting damage to the intestinal barrier may affect or be affected by the intestinal microbiota. Methods: A prospective case-control was used, including 48 subjects from Sleep Medicine Center of Nanfang Hospital. Sleep apnea was diagnosed by overnight polysomnography. Fecal samples and blood samples were collected from subjects to detect intestinal microbiome composition (by 16S rDNA gene amplification and sequencing) and intestinal barrier biomarkers – intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) and D-lactic acid (D-LA) (by ELISA and colorimetry, respectively). Results: The severity of OSA was related to differences in the structure and composition of the intestinal microbiome. Enriched Fusobacterium, Megamonasa, Lachnospiraceae_UCG_006, and reduced Anaerostipes was found in patients with severe OSA. Enriched Ruminococcus_2, Lachnoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae_UCG_006, and Alloprevotella was found in patients with high intestinal barrier biomarkers. Lachnoclostridium and Lachnospiraceae_UCG_006 were the common dominant bacteria of OSA and intestinal barrier damage. Fusobacterium and Peptoclostridium was independently associated with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). The dominant genera of severe OSA were also related to glucose, lipid, neutrophils, monocytes and BMI. Network analysis identified links between the intestinal microbiome, intestinal barrier biomarkers, and AHI. Conclusions: The study confirms that changes in the intestinal microbiota are related to intestinal barrier biomarkers among patients in OSA. These changes may play a pathophysiological role in the systemic inflammation and metabolic comorbidities associated with OSA, leading to multi-organ morbidity of OSA.
Project description:Host pathways mediating changes in immune states elicited by intestinal microbial colonization are incompletely characterized. Here we describe alterations of the host immune state induced by colonization of germ-free zebrafish larvae with an intestinal microbial community or single bacterial species. We show that microbiota-induced changes in intestinal leukocyte subsets and whole-body host gene expression are dependent on the innate immune adaptor gene myd88. Similar patterns of gene expression are elicited by colonization with conventional microbiome, as well as mono-colonization with two different zebrafish commensal bacterial strains. By studying loss-of-function myd88 mutants, we find that colonization suppresses Myd88 at the mRNA level. Tlr2 is essential for microbiota-induced effects on myd88 transcription and intestinal immune cell composition.
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:With annually 2.56 million deaths worldwide, pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death. Most frequent causative pathogens are Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza A virus. Lately, the interaction between pathogens, the host and its microbiome gained more attention. A healthy microbiome is known to enhance the immune response towards pathogens, however, our knowledge on how infections affect the microbiome is still scarce. In this study, a meta-omics approach was used to investigate the impact of S. pneumoniae and influenza A virus infection on structure and function of the respiratory and gastrointestinal microbiomes of mice. In particular, the taxonomic composition of the respiratory microbiome was less affected by bacterial colonization and viral infection compared to S. pneumoniae infection. Pneumococcal pneumonia led to reduction of bacterial families and lower diversity in the respiratory microbiome, whereas diversity/richness was unaffected following H1N1 infection. Within the gastrointestinal microbiome we found exclusive changes in structure and function depending on the pneumonia inducing pathogen. Exemplarily, increased abundance of Akkermansiaceae and Spirochaetaceae, as well as decreased amounts of Clostridiaceae in response to S. pneumoniae infection, while increased presence of Enterococcaceae and Staphylococcaceae was specific for viral-induced pneumonia. Investigation of the intestinal microbiomes functional composition revealed reduced expression of flagellin and rubrerythrin and increased levels of ATPase during pneumococcal infection, while increased amounts of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and, enoyl-CoA transferase were unique after H1N1 infection. The identification of specific taxonomical and functional profiles during infection with a respective pathogen could deliver new insights in the role of the microbiome during disease and be beneficial for discrimination of pneumococcal- or viral-induced pneumonia.
Project description:With annually 2.56 million deaths worldwide, pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death. Most frequent causative pathogens are Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza A virus. Lately, the interaction between pathogens, the host and its microbiome gained more attention. A healthy microbiome is known to enhance the immune response towards pathogens, however, our knowledge on how infections affect the microbiome is still scarce. In this study, a meta-omics approach was used to investigate the impact of S. pneumoniae and influenza A virus infection on structure and function of the respiratory and gastrointestinal microbiomes of mice. In particular, the taxonomic composition of the respiratory microbiome was less affected by bacterial colonization and viral infection compared to S. pneumoniae infection. Pneumococcal pneumonia led to reduction of bacterial families and lower diversity in the respiratory microbiome, whereas diversity/richness was unaffected following H1N1 infection. Within the gastrointestinal microbiome we found exclusive changes in structure and function depending on the pneumonia inducing pathogen. Exemplarily, increased abundance of Akkermansiaceae and Spirochaetaceae, as well as decreased amounts of Clostridiaceae in response to S. pneumoniae infection, while increased presence of Enterococcaceae and Staphylococcaceae was specific for viral-induced pneumonia. Investigation of the intestinal microbiomes functional composition revealed reduced expression of flagellin and rubrerythrin and increased levels of ATPase during pneumococcal infection, while increased amounts of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and, enoyl-CoA transferase were unique after H1N1 infection. The identification of specific taxonomical and functional profiles during infection with a respective pathogen could deliver new insights in the role of the microbiome during disease and be beneficial for discrimination of pneumococcal- or viral-induced pneumonia.
Project description:With annually 2.56 million deaths worldwide, pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death. Most frequent causative pathogens are Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza A virus. Lately, the interaction between pathogens, the host and its microbiome gained more attention. A healthy microbiome is known to enhance the immune response towards pathogens, however, our knowledge on how infections affect the microbiome is still scarce. In this study, a meta-omics approach was used to investigate the impact of S. pneumoniae and influenza A virus infection on structure and function of the respiratory and gastrointestinal microbiomes of mice. In particular, the taxonomic composition of the respiratory microbiome was less affected by bacterial colonization and viral infection compared to S. pneumoniae infection. Pneumococcal pneumonia led to reduction of bacterial families and lower diversity in the respiratory microbiome, whereas diversity/richness was unaffected following H1N1 infection. Within the gastrointestinal microbiome we found exclusive changes in structure and function depending on the pneumonia inducing pathogen. Exemplarily, increased abundance of Akkermansiaceae and Spirochaetaceae, as well as decreased amounts of Clostridiaceae in response to S. pneumoniae infection, while increased presence of Enterococcaceae and Staphylococcaceae was specific for viral-induced pneumonia. Investigation of the intestinal microbiomes functional composition revealed reduced expression of flagellin and rubrerythrin and increased levels of ATPase during pneumococcal infection, while increased amounts of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and, enoyl-CoA transferase were unique after H1N1 infection. The identification of specific taxonomical and functional profiles during infection with a respective pathogen could deliver new insights in the role of the microbiome during disease and be beneficial for discrimination of pneumococcal- or viral-induced pneumonia.
Project description:With annually 2.56 million deaths worldwide, pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death. Most frequent causative pathogens are Streptococcus pneumoniae and influenza A virus. Lately, the interaction between pathogens, the host and its microbiome gained more attention. A healthy microbiome is known to enhance the immune response towards pathogens, however, our knowledge on how infections affect the microbiome is still scarce. In this study, a meta-omics approach was used to investigate the impact of S. pneumoniae and influenza A virus infection on structure and function of the respiratory and gastrointestinal microbiomes of mice. In particular, the taxonomic composition of the respiratory microbiome was less affected by bacterial colonization and viral infection compared to S. pneumoniae infection. Pneumococcal pneumonia led to reduction of bacterial families and lower diversity in the respiratory microbiome, whereas diversity/richness was unaffected following H1N1 infection. Within the gastrointestinal microbiome we found exclusive changes in structure and function depending on the pneumonia inducing pathogen. Exemplarily, increased abundance of Akkermansiaceae and Spirochaetaceae, as well as decreased amounts of Clostridiaceae in response to S. pneumoniae infection, while increased presence of Enterococcaceae and Staphylococcaceae was specific for viral-induced pneumonia. Investigation of the intestinal microbiomes functional composition revealed reduced expression of flagellin and rubrerythrin and increased levels of ATPase during pneumococcal infection, while increased amounts of acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase and, enoyl-CoA transferase were unique after H1N1 infection. The identification of specific taxonomical and functional profiles during infection with a respective pathogen could deliver new insights in the role of the microbiome during disease and be beneficial for discrimination of pneumococcal- or viral-induced pneumonia.