Project description:The colon contains a dense metabolically potent microbiota. The colonic O-glycan-rich mucus has been recognized as a key barrier to prevent microbial intrusion, but how this system forms and functions remains unclear. Here, we discovered that the colon mucus is mainly forged by microbiota-dependent secretion of O-glycosylated Muc2 by goblet cells in the ascending colon, where it seamlessly encapsulates the fecal materials including the microbiota. Deletion of O-glycans in the ascending colon impaired the segregating function of the mucous coating, leading to altered structure and metabolic output of the microbiota, and transcriptional homeostasis of the entire host mucosa. These findings represent a paradigm change of the prevailing model of the colon mucus system and provides new insights into host and microbiota symbiosis.
Project description:Chronic acid suppression by proton pump inhibitor (PPI) has been hypothesized to alter the gut microbiota via a change in intestinal pH. To evaluate the changes in gut microbiota composition by long-term PPI treatment.
Project description:Chronic acid suppression by proton pump inhibitor (PPI) has been hypothesized to alter the gut microbiota via a change in intestinal pH. To evaluate the changes in gut microbiota composition by long-term PPI treatment. Twenty-four week old F344 rats were fed with (n = 5) or without (n = 6) lansoprazole (PPI) for 50 weeks. Then, profiles of luminal microbiota in the terminal ileum were analyzed. Pyrosequencing for 16S rRNA gene was performed by genome sequencer FLX (454 Life Sciences/Roche) and analyzed by metagenomic bioinformatics.
Project description:Contaminated aquifer (Dusseldorf-Flinger, Germany) templates extracted from 5 sediment depths ranging between 6.4 and 8.4 m below ground and over 3 years of sampling were amplified for amplicon pyrosequencing using the primers Ba27f (5’-aga gtt tga tcm tgg ctc ag-3’) and Ba519r (5’- tat tac cgc ggc kgc tg-3’), extended as amplicon fusion primers with respective primer A or B adapters, key sequence and multiplex identifiers (MID) as recommended by 454/Roche. Amplicons were purified and pooled as specified by the manufacturer. Emulsion PCR (emPCR), purification of DNA-enriched beads and sequencing run were performed following protocols and using a 2nd generation pyrosequencer (454 GS FLX Titanium, Roche) as recommended by the developer. Quality filtering of the pyrosequencing reads was performed using the automatic amplicon pipeline of the GS Run Processor (Roche), with a slight modification concerning the valley filter (vfScanAllFlows false instead of TiOnly) to extract the sequences. Demultiplexed raw reads were furhter trimmed for quality and lenght (>250 bp).
Project description:Contaminated aquifer (Dusseldorf-Flinger, Germany) templates extracted from 5 sediment depths ranging between 6.4 and 8.4 m below ground and over 3 years of sampling were amplified for amplicon pyrosequencing using the primers Ba27f (5’-aga gtt tga tcm tgg ctc ag-3’) and Ba519r (5’- tat tac cgc ggc kgc tg-3’), extended as amplicon fusion primers with respective primer A or B adapters, key sequence and multiplex identifiers (MID) as recommended by 454/Roche. Amplicons were purified and pooled as specified by the manufacturer. Emulsion PCR (emPCR), purification of DNA-enriched beads and sequencing run were performed following protocols and using a 2nd generation pyrosequencer (454 GS FLX Titanium, Roche) as recommended by the developer. Quality filtering of the pyrosequencing reads was performed using the automatic amplicon pipeline of the GS Run Processor (Roche), with a slight modification concerning the valley filter (vfScanAllFlows false instead of TiOnly) to extract the sequences. Demultiplexed raw reads were furhter trimmed for quality and lenght (>250 bp). 15 samples examined in total from important plume zones of the aquifer sampled in Feb. 2006, Sep. 2008 and Jun. 2009 (5 every year of sampling).
Project description:The small intestinal epithelium mediates vital functions of nutrient absorption and host defense. The spatial organization of the epithelial cells along the crypt-villus axis segregates them into regions of specialized function. However, many of the mechanisms governing intestinal epithelial cell migration and the coordination of interactions with adjacent cells and the extracellular matrix are not fully understood. We have evaluated in vivo gene expression patterns of ileal epithelial cells in healthy human subjects, isolated by laser capture microdissection from either the villus epithelial or crypt cell regions of the small intestinal mucosa. Expression profiles in villus epithelium and Paneth cell lineages were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, DNA microarray, and immunohistochemistry based methods. Relative expression levels of selected epithelial biomarkers were compared between the ileum, jejunum, duodenum, colon, stomach, and esophagus. Previously established biomarkers as well as a novel and distinct set of genes believed to be linked to epithelial cell motility, adhesion, and differentiation were found to be enriched in each of the two corresponding cell populations. Additionally, high baseline expression levels of innate antimicrobials, alpha defensin 5 (HD5) and regenerating islet-derived 3 alpha (Reg3A), were detected exclusively within the small bowel, most notably in the ileum, in comparison to other sites along the gastrointestinal tract. Our findings provide new and important insights regarding the molecular machinery employed by small intestinal epithelial cells to mediate their function and spatial organization in vivo. Experiment Overall Design: Surgical specimens of human intestinal mucosa were obtained from 4 individuals undergoing surgery for colon cancer, bowel obstruction, or other non-inflammatory conditions. The samples were fixed overnight in 4% (w/v) paraformaldehyde, dehydrated in a graded alcohol series and paraffin-embedded. At least 500 epithelial cells from the crypt or upper villus regions were then captured by LCMD from unstained 6µm thick sections using a PALM MicroLaser System Total RNA was extracted for microarray-based gene expression analysis.