Suchergebnisse

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypical systemic autoimmune disease in humans and is characterized by the presence of hyperactive immune cells and aberrant antibody responses to nuclear and cytoplasmic antigens, including characteristic anti–double-stranded DNA antibodies. We performed a cross-sectional study in order to determine if an SLE-associated gut dysbiosis exists in patients without active disease. A group of 20 SLE patients in remission, for which there was strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, was recruited, and we used an optimized Ion Torrent 16S rRNA gene-based analysis protocol to decipher the fecal microbial profiles of these patients and compare them with those of 20 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. We found diversity to be comparable based on Shannon's index. However, we saw a significantly lower Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in SLE individuals (median ratio, 1.97) than in healthy subjects (median ratio, 4.86; P < 0.002). A lower Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in SLE individuals was corroborated by quantitative PCR analysis. Notably, a decrease of some Firmicutes families was also detected. This dysbiosis is reflected, based on in silico functional inference, in an overrepresentation of oxidative phosphorylation and glycan utilization pathways in SLE patient microbiota. IMPORTANCE: Growing evidence suggests that the gut microbiota might impact symptoms and progression of some autoimmune diseases. However, how and why this microbial community influences SLE remains to be elucidated. This is the first report describing an SLE-associated intestinal dysbiosis, and it contributes to the understanding of the interplay between the intestinal microbiota and the host in autoimmune disorders. © 2014 Hevia et al. ; This study was financed by European Union FEDER funds and the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D (grant AGL2010-14952). Arancha Hevia was the recipient of an FPI grant, and Borja Sánchez was the recipient of a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract, both from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. ; Peer Reviewed

This study was financed by European Union FEDER funds and the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D (grant AGL2010-14952)

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease, characterized by the appearance of demyelinating lesions with inflammatory character in the CNS. Given the unpredictable evolution of the disease, numerous attempts have been initiated to find some pathogenic factors and by default targeted treatment methods. The intestinal microbiota of these patients is often significantly altered compared to the healthy population and given the complex connections between the intestine and the central nervous system, the idea of causality between dysbiosis and this condition was launched. The intestinal mucosa represents the interface between the external environment and the organism, so that it is considered the starting point of some local immunological processes but with systemic resonance, especially neurological. The classic medication scheme widely used to treat MS nowadays can also affect the integrity of the intestinal mucosa by breaking the fine balance at this level. Data from recent studies around the subject open new treatment opportunities around preserving the intestinal microbiota and strategies like vitamin A intake and fat-soluble vitamin D supplementation, probiotic complexes or faecalis microbiota transplantation appear more promising and easier to apply in daily clinical practice.

Urogenital schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasite Schistosoma haematobium, which resides in the vasculature surrounding the urogenital system. Previous work has suggested that helminthic infections can affect the intestinal microbiome, and we hypothesized that S. haematobium infection could result in an alteration of immune system-microbiota homeostasis and impact the composition of the gut microbiota. To address this question, we compared the fecal microbiomes of infected and uninfected schoolchildren from the Argungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Nigeria, detecting significant differences in community composition between the two groups. Most remarkably, we observed a decreased abundance of Firmicutes and increased abundance of Proteobacteria – a shift in community structure which has been previously associated with dysbiosis. More specifically, we detected a number of changes in lower taxa reminiscent of inflammation-associated dysbiosis, including decreases in Clostridiales and increases in Moraxellaceae, Veillonellaceae, Pasteurellaceae, and Desulfovibrionaceae. Functional potential analysis also revealed an enrichment in orthologs of urease, which has been linked to dysbiosis and inflammation. Overall, our analysis indicates that S. haematobium infection is associated with perturbations in the gut microbiota and may point to microbiome disruption as an additional consequence of schistosome infection.

Background and Objectives: Novel probiotics and prebiotics designed to modulate the gut microbiota for improving health outcomes are in demand as the importance of the gut microbiota in human health is revealed. A review of the scientific literature regarding the current knowledge and novel species and novel oligosaccharides for the treatment of dysbiosis-associated diseases has been carried out due to their growing interest. Results and Conclusions: The regulations governing introduction of novel probiotics and prebiotics vary by geographical region. Novel foods and foods with health claims fall under specific regulations in several countries. In European Union (EU), safety is assessed by novel food approval process and by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) established Quantitative Presumption of Safety (QPS) system for bacteria and other biologicals. Any messages on health benefits are covered by the European Regulation on Health Claims (ERHC), also assessed by EFSA. Examples of recent novel probiotics in EU include Clostridium butyricum, and Bacteroides xylanisolvens and examples of novel prebiotics include human milk oligosaccharides such as Lacto-N-neotetraose. Yacon root is an example on a previously novel prebiotic food which is allowed due to the reported existing cultivation and use in EU prior to the novel food regulation. Potential future candidates include further human milk oligosaccharides and bacteria such Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Akkermasia muciniphila. Increasing knowledge on human intestinal microbiota and microbiota development enables the design of new more specific and hitherto unknown probiotics and prebiotics. Also understanding the microbe and microbe host interactions facilitates the search for novel probiotics and prebiotics.

© 2021 The Author(s). ; Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), affect several million people worldwide. CD and UC are characterized by periods of clinical remission and relapse. Although IBD patients present chronic alterations of the gut microbiome, called dysbiosis, little attention has been devoted to the relapse-related microbiome. To address this gap, we generated shotgun metagenomic data from the stools of two European cohorts—134 Spanish (followed up for one year) and 49 Belgian (followed up for 6 months) subjects—to characterize the microbial taxonomic and metabolic profiles present. To assess the predictive value of microbiome data, we added the taxonomic profiles generated from a previous study of 130 Americans. Our results revealed that CD was more dysbiotic than UC compared to healthy controls (HC) and that strategies for energy extraction and propionate production were different in CD compared to UC and HC. Remarkably, CD and UC relapses were not associated with alpha- or beta-diversity, or with a dysbiotic score. However, CD relapse was linked to alterations at the species and metabolic pathway levels, including those involved in propionate production. The random forest method using taxonomic profiles allowed the prediction of CD vs. non-CD with an AUC = 0.938, UC vs. HC with an AUC = 0.646, and CD relapse vs. remission with an AUC = 0.769. Our study validates previous taxonomic findings, points to different relapse-related growth and defence mechanisms in CD compared to UC and HC and provides biomarkers to discriminate IBD subtypes and predict disease activity. ; This study was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III /FEDER, a government agency (grant numbers: PI17/00614; PI20/00130), and by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (Award ID: 514634).