Project description:Aging is associated with declining immunity and inflammation as well as alterations in the gut microbiome with a decrease of beneficial microbes and increase in pathogenic ones. The aim of this study was to investigate aging associated gut microbiome in relation to immunologic and metabolic profile in a non-human primate (NHP) model. 12 old (age>18 years) and 4 young (age 3-6 years) Rhesus macaques were included in this study. Immune cell subsets were characterized in PBMC by flow cytometry and plasma cytokines levels were determined by bead based multiplex cytokine analysis. Stool samples were collected by ileal loop and investigated for microbiome analysis by shotgun metagenomics. Serum, gut microbial lysate and microbe-free fecal extract were subjected to metabolomic analysis by mass-spectrometry. Our results showed that the old animals exhibited higher inflammatory biomarkers in plasma and lower CD4 T cells with altered distribution of naïve and memory T cell maturation subsets. The gut microbiome in old animals had higher abundance of Archaeal and Proteobacterial species and lower Firmicutes than the young. Significant enrichment of metabolites that contribute to inflammatory and cytotoxic pathways was observed in serum and feces of old animals compared to the young. We conclude that aging NHP undergo immunosenescence and age associated alterations in the gut microbiome that has a distinct metabolic profile.
Project description:Here, we applied a microarray-based metagenomics technology termed GeoChip 5.0 to examined functional gene structure of microbes in three biomes, including boreal, temperate and tropical area.
Project description:Here, we applied a microarray-based metagenomics technology termed GeoChip 5.0 to examined functional gene structure of microbes in four lakes at low and high elevations of approximately 530 and 4,600 m a.s.l., respectively.
Project description:Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are immune cells that play a crucial role in maintaining tolerance to harmless antigens, including commensal microbes. In the intestine, Tregs can be classified into subsets based on their expression of transcription factors Helios, Rorg, Gata3 and cMaf. The exact functions of the intestinal Treg subsets and their role in maintaining tolerance to intestinal microbes is not fully understood. Here, we generated conditional knockout mice of each Treg subset and profiled the composition of their intestinal microbiota by performing 16S rRNA sequencing of stool from conditional knockouts and matched littermate controls.
Project description:We compared the microbiota of paired mouse caecal contents and faeces by applying a multi-omic approach, including 16S rDNA sequencing, shotgun metagenomics, and shotgun metaproteomics. The aim of the study was to verify whether faecal samples are a reliable proxy for the mouse colonic luminal microbiota, as well as to identify changes in taxonomy and functional activity between caecal and faecal microbial communities, which have to be carefully considered when using stool as sample for mouse gut microbiota investigations.
Project description:Whole blood, stool samples, and questionnaire data were collected from participants in the DRIFT2 trial at baseline and at a 3 month follow-up visit to analyze relationships between DNA methylation, gut microbes, and diet data. 128 total whole blood samples were collected .
Project description:Purpose The role of intestinal flora in carcinogenesis and chemotherapy efficacy has been increasingly studied; however, comparisons between oral and intestinal flora remain limited. This study aimed to identify the microbial changes in urothelial carcinoma (UC) by analyzing oral saliva and stool samples from healthy individuals and patients. We also examined the association between microbial composition and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) response. Methods A total of 20 healthy individuals and 38 patients with UC were analyzed. Among them, 27 patients with UC underwent ICI treatment. Oral saliva and stool samples were analyzed for 16S rRNA sequences to assess bacterial composition. Operational taxonomic units were generated, and phylogenetic analysis was performed using the 16S Metagenomics app whithin the Illumina BaseSpace Sequence Hub. Results Patients with UC showed higher Veillonellaceae and Prevotellaceae levels in saliva and stool, with lower levels of these bacteria associated with more prolonged overall survival and progression-free survival, particularly Veillonellaceae in stool. A higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio correlated with increased levels of these bacteria. Conclusion Veillonellaceae and Prevotellaceae are potential microbial biomarkers of survival outcomes and ICI efficacy in patients with UC. Non-invasive oral microbial sampling may facilitate personalized cancer treatment strategies.
Project description:Microbiome sequencing model is a Named Entity Recognition (NER) model that identifies and annotates microbiome nucleic acid sequencing method or platform in texts. This is the final model version used to annotate metagenomics publications in Europe PMC and enrich metagenomics studies in MGnify with sequencing metadata from literature. For more information, please refer to the following blogs: http://blog.europepmc.org/2020/11/europe-pmc-publications-metagenomics-annotations.html https://www.ebi.ac.uk/about/news/service-news/enriched-metadata-fields-mgnify-based-text-mining-associated-publications
Project description:The spatiotemporal structure of the human microbiome, proteome, and metabolome reflects and determines regional intestinal physiology and may have implications for disease. Yet, we know little about the distribution of microbes, their environment, and their biochemical activity in the gut because of reliance on stool samples and limited access to only some regions of the gut using endoscopy in fasting or sedated individuals. To address these deficiencies, we developed and evaluated a safe, ingestible device that collects samples from multiple regions of the human intestinal tract during normal digestion and maintains the viability of microbes from these locations. The collection of 240 intestinal samples from 15 healthy individuals using the device and subsequent multi-omics analyses revealed significant differences between microbes, phages, host proteins, and metabolites present in the intestines versus stool. Certain microbial taxa and gene classes were differentially enriched, and prophage induction was more prevalent in the intestines than in stool. The host proteome and bile acid profiles varied along the intestines and were highly distinct from those of stool. Correlations between gradients in bile acid concentrations and microbial abundancepredicted species that altered the bile acid pool through deconjugation. Furthermore,microbially conjugated bile acids displayed amino acid-dependent trends in concentration that were not apparent in stool. Overall, non-invasive longitudinal profilingof microbes, proteins, and bile acids along the intestinal tract under physiological conditions can help elucidate the roles of the gut microbiome and metabolome in humanphysiology and disease.