Project description:In this study we investigated whether gut microbiota profile of Italian healthy volunteers could differ based on their geaographical origin. To this purpose, fecal samples were collected from 31 healthy individuals living in 3 different italian regions (Lombardy, North; Lazio, Center; Apulia, South) and their respective microbiota profiles were analyzed employing 16S metagenomic sequencing method. This study identifies differences in the gut microbiota content and richness among individuals with the same ethnicity coming from three different Italian regions.
Project description:We have previously demonstrated that the gut microbiota can play a role in the pathogenesis of conditions associated with exposure to environmental pollutants. It is well accepted that diets high in fermentable fibers such as inulin can beneficially modulate the gut microbiota and lessen the severity of pro-inflammatory diseases. Therefore, we aimed to test the hypothesis that hyperlipidemic mice fed a diet enriched with inulin would be protected from the pro-inflammatory toxic effects of PCB 126.
Project description:The indigenous human gut microbiota is a major contributor to the human superorganism with established roles in modulating nutritional status, immunity, and systemic health including diabetes and obesity. The complexity of the gut microbiota consisting of over 1012 residents and approximately 1000 species has thus far eluded systematic analyses of the precise effects of individual microbial residents on human health. In contrast, health benefits have been shown upon ingestion of certain so-called probiotic Lactobacillus strains in food products and nutritional supplements, thereby providing a unique opportunity to study the global responses of a gut-adapted microorganism in the human gut and to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying microbial modulation of intestinal physiology, which might involve alterations in the intestinal physico-chemical environment, modifications in the gut microbiota, and/or direct interaction with mucosal epithelia and immune cells. Here we show by transcriptome analysis using DNA microarrays that the established probiotic bacterium, L. plantarum 299v, adapts its metabolic capacity in the human digestive tract for carbohydrate acquisition and expression of exo-polysaccharide and proteinaceous cell surface compounds. This report constitutes the first application of global gene expression profiling of a gut-adapted commensal microorganism in the human gut. Comparisons of the transcript profiles to those obtained for L. plantarum WCFS1 in germ-free mice revealed conserved L. plantarum responses indicative of a core transcriptome expressed in the mammalian gut and provide new molecular targets for determining microbial-host interactions affecting human health. Hybridization of the samples against a common reference of gDNA isolated from L. plantarum 299v
Project description:Early life gut microbiota plays a critical role in gut development, maturation of the immune response and protection against enteric pathogens such as Salmonella. In this study, we investigated how different gut microbiota compositions influence the host transcriptomic signatures and susceptibility to Salmonella infection in chicks.
Project description:Analysis of breast cancer survivors' gut microbiota after lifestyle intervention, during the COVID-19 lockdown, by 16S sequencing of fecal samples.