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American Journal of Translational... 2024The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (common allergies) has increased in the last fifty years, from less than one percent to more than twenty-six percent of the...
The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (common allergies) has increased in the last fifty years, from less than one percent to more than twenty-six percent of the population. Today, more than one hundred million people in the US suffer seasonal or yearlong allergies. The hygiene hypothesis was proposed 30 years ago as a potential explanation for this phenomenon, and we built on it with the specific oral hygiene hypothesis. Our longitudinal pilot study suggested that oral probiotic deficiency is the cause of allergic rhinitis. This clinical trial served to verify our theory and evaluate the effectiveness of AllerPops for allergy relief. We carried out a phase II, randomized, double-blind, controlled, single-center 21-day study to investigate the efficacy of AllerPops to reduce nasal symptoms in 72 adult volunteers with seasonal/year-long nasal allergies and its impact on oral microbiome using amplicon sequencing of 16S ribosome RNA genes. The volunteers were randomly separated into two equally sized groups: a control group and an investigational group. Both groups were given at least three doses of AllerPops, taken every other day, and asked to answer questions about observed allergy symptoms. Volunteers in the investigational group cleaned their mouths before taking a dose and slowly dissolve the lozenge, while those in the control did not. Through this trial, we show that AllerPops prebiotic supplements are effective in providing sustained allergy relief (P = 0.002) and can modulate oral beneficial bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as Fusobacteria, Butyrivibrio, and Peptostreptococcus. The clinical improvements correlated with changes in the relative abundance of probiotics significantly: Fusobacteria (R = 0.32, P = 0.009), Butyrivibrio (R = 0.25, P = 0.044), and Peptostreptococcus (R = 0.34, P = 0.005). These results point to the root cause of allergic rhinitis: the lack of oral probiotics that produce SCFA to pacify the immune systems. Future study of AllerPops' theory will help society redefine the best oral hygiene practice to protect oral probiotics so that we may prevent allergic and autoimmune diseases and dental/gum infections. The trial was retrospectively registered at clinicaltrials.com, with registration number NCT05956691, on 21/07/2023.
PubMed: 38322553
DOI: 10.62347/JWOU4205 -
Frontiers in Oncology 2023Colon microbiome composition contributes to the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and prognosis. We analyzed 16S rRNA sequencing data from tumor samples of...
BACKGROUND
Colon microbiome composition contributes to the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) and prognosis. We analyzed 16S rRNA sequencing data from tumor samples of patients with metastatic CRC and determined the clinical implications.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We enrolled 133 patients with metastatic CRC at St. Vincent Hospital in Korea. The V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene from the tumor DNA were amplified, sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq, and analyzed using the DADA2 package.
RESULTS
After excluding samples that retained <5% of the total reads after merging, 120 samples were analyzed. The median age of patients was 63 years (range, 34-82 years), and 76 patients (63.3%) were male. The primary cancer sites were the right colon (27.5%), left colon (30.8%), and rectum (41.7%). All subjects received 5-fluouracil-based systemic chemotherapy. After removing genera with <1% of the total reads in each patient, 523 genera were identified. Rectal origin, high CEA level (≥10 ng/mL), and presence of lung metastasis showed higher richness. Survival analysis revealed that the presence of ( = 0.052), ( = 0.002), (<0.001), ( = 0.001), ( = 0.007), ( = 0.002), and ( = 0.003) were associated with short overall survival (OS, <24 months), while the presence of was associated with long OS ( = 0.070). From the multivariate analysis, the presence of (hazard ratio [HR], 6.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.38-16.97; <0.001) was associated with poor prognosis along with high CEA level.
CONCLUSION
Tumor microbiome features may be useful prognostic biomarkers for metastatic CRC.
PubMed: 38304032
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1310054 -
The Science of the Total Environment Mar 2024Waterbirds are vectors for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance across environments, with some species increasingly reliant on highly anthropized habitats for...
Waterbirds are vectors for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance across environments, with some species increasingly reliant on highly anthropized habitats for feeding. However, data on the impact of their feeding habits on the carriage of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are still scarce. To fill this gap, we examined the microbiota (16S rRNA amplicon gene sequencing) and the prevalence of ARG (high-throughput qPCR of 47 genes) in faeces from white storks (Ciconia ciconia) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus) feeding in highly (landfill) and less (paddy fields) polluted habitats. Faecal bacterial richness and diversity were higher in gulls feeding upon landfills and showed a greater abundance of potential pathogens, such as Staphylococcus. In contrast, faecal bacterial communities from storks were similar regardless of habitat preferences, maybe due to a less intense habitat use compared to gulls. In addition, birds feeding in the landfill carried a higher burden of ARGs compared to the surrounding soil and surface waters. Network analysis revealed strong correlations between ARGs and potential pathogens, particularly between tetM (resistance to tetracyclines), bla (beta-lactam resistance), sul1 (sulfonamide resistance) and members of the genera Streptococcus, Peptostreptococcus, and Peptoclostridium. Our work demonstrates how transitioning from paddy fields to landfills fosters the carriage of ARGs and potential pathogens in the bird gut, shedding light on the ecological role of these avian vectors in antimicrobial resistance dissemination.
Topics: Animals; Charadriiformes; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Birds; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Bacteria; Genes, Bacterial; Microbiota; Waste Disposal Facilities
PubMed: 38199372
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169946 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Dec 2023The human oral and nasal cavities can act as reservoirs for opportunistic pathogens capable of causing acute infection. These microbes asymptomatically colonize the...
The human oral and nasal cavities can act as reservoirs for opportunistic pathogens capable of causing acute infection. These microbes asymptomatically colonize the human oral and nasal cavities which facilitates transmission within human populations via the environment, and they routinely possess a clinically-significant antibiotic-resistance genes. Among these opportunistic pathogens, the genus stands out as a notable example, with its members frequently linked to nosocomial infections and multidrug resistance. As with many colonizing opportunistic pathogens, how transitions from an asymptomatic colonizer to a pathogen remains unclear. Here, we explored a possible explanation by investigating the ability of oral and nasal to outcompete their native microbial community members under starvation conditions, which could be analogous to external hospital environments. When was present within a healthy human oral or nasal sample, the bacterial community composition shifted dramatically under starvation conditions and typically became dominated by . Furthermore, introducing exogenously into a native microbial community lacking , even at low inoculum, led to repeated dominance under starvation. strains isolated from healthy individuals' oral and nasal cavities also exhibited resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics and were genetically similar to clinical and gut isolates. In addition, we found that in the absence of , other understudied opportunistic pathogens, such as , dominate under starvation conditions. Our findings establish an environmental circumstance that allows for the outgrowth of and other opportunistic pathogens. The ability to outcompete other commensal bacteria and to persist under harsh environmental conditions may contribute to the colonization-to-infection transition of these opportunistic pathogens.
PubMed: 38187725
DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.18.572173 -
Frontiers in Oncology 2023Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common type of cancer, with more than half a million new cases annually. This review focuses on the role of oral dysbiosis... (Review)
Review
Head and neck cancer (HNC) is the sixth most common type of cancer, with more than half a million new cases annually. This review focuses on the role of oral dysbiosis and HPV infection in HNCs, presenting the involved taxons, molecular effectors and pathways, as well as the HPV-associated particularities of genetic and epigenetic changes and of the tumor microenvironment occurred in different stages of tumor development. Oral dysbiosis is associated with the evolution of HNCs, through multiple mechanisms such as inflammation, genotoxins release, modulation of the innate and acquired immune response, carcinogens and anticarcinogens production, generation of oxidative stress, induction of mutations. Thus, novel microbiome-derived biomarkers and interventions could significantly contribute to achieving the desideratum of personalized management of oncologic patients, regarding both early diagnosis and treatment. The results reported by different studies are not always congruent regarding the variations in the abundance of different taxons in HNCs. However, there is a consistent reporting of a higher abundance of Gram-negative species such as , which are probably responsible of chronic inflammation and modulation of tumor microenvironment. is the dominant fungi found in oral carcinoma being also associated with shorter survival rate. Specific microbial signatures (e.g., and ) have been associated with later stages and larger tumor, suggesting their potential to be used as biomarkers for tumor stratification and prognosis. On the other hand, increased abundance of is associated with a reduced risk of HNC. Microbiome could also provide biomarkers for differentiating between oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers as well as between HPV-positive and HPV-negative tumors. Ongoing clinical trials aim to validate non-invasive tests for microbiome-derived biomarkers detection in oral and throat cancers, especially within high-risk populations. Oro-pharyngeal dysbiosis could also impact the HNCs therapy and associated side-effects of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. HPV-positive tumors harbor fewer mutations, as well as different DNA methylation pattern and tumor microenvironment. Therefore, elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which oral microbiota and HPV infection influence the HNC initiation and progression, screening for HPV infection and vaccination against HPV, adopting a good oral hygiene, and preventing oral dysbiosis are important tools for advancing in the battle with this public health global challenge.
PubMed: 38179168
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1273516 -
MSystems Jan 2024Drug addiction can seriously damage human physical and mental health, while detoxification is a long and difficult process. Although studies have reported changes in the...
Drug addiction can seriously damage human physical and mental health, while detoxification is a long and difficult process. Although studies have reported changes in the oral microbiome of methamphetamine (METH) users, the role that the microbiome plays in the process of drug addiction is still unknown. This study aims to explore the function of the microbiome based on analysis of the variations in the oral microbiome and metabolome of METH users. We performed the 16S rRNA sequencing analysis based on the oral saliva samples collected from 278 METH users and 105 healthy controls (CTL). In addition, the untargeted metabolomic profiling was conducted based on 220 samples. Compared to the CTL group, alpha diversity was reduced in the group of METH users and the relative abundances of and were significantly increased, while the relative abundances of and were significantly decreased. Variations were also detected in oral metabolic pathways, including enhanced tryptophan metabolism, lysine biosynthesis, purine metabolism, and steroid biosynthesis. Conversely, the metabolic pathways of porphyrin metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and pentose phosphate were significantly reduced. It was speculated that four key microbial taxa, i.e., , , , and , could be involved in the toxicity and addiction mechanisms of METH by affecting the above metabolic pathways. It was found that with the increase of drug use years, the content of tryptamine associated with neuropsychiatric disorders was gradually increased. Our study provides novel insights into exploring the toxic damage and addiction mechanisms underlying the METH addiction.IMPORTANCEIt was found that with the increase of drug use years, the content of tryptamine associated with neuropsychiatric disorders gradually increased. The prediction models based on oral microbiome and metabolome could effectively predict the methamphetamine (METH) smoking. Our study provides novel insights into the exploration of the molecular mechanisms regulating the toxic damage and addiction of METH as well as new ideas for early prevention and treatment strategies of METH addiction.
Topics: Humans; Methamphetamine; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Amphetamine-Related Disorders; Metabolome; Microbiota; Tryptamines
PubMed: 38112416
DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00991-23 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2023The existing diagnostic methods of epilepsy such as history collection and electroencephalogram have great limitations in practice, so more reliable and less difficult...
BACKGROUND
The existing diagnostic methods of epilepsy such as history collection and electroencephalogram have great limitations in practice, so more reliable and less difficult diagnostic methods are needed.
METHODS
By characterizing oral microbiota in patients diagnosed with epilepsy (EPs) and patients whose seizures were under control (EPRs), we sought to discover biomarkers for different disease states. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on 480 tongue swabs [157 EPs, 22 EPRs, and 301 healthy controls (HCs)].
RESULTS
Compared with normal individuals, patients with epilepsy exhibit increased alpha diversity in their oral microbiota, and the oral microbial communities of the two groups demonstrate significant beta diversity differences. EPs exhibit a significant increase in the abundance of 26 genera, including , , and , while the abundance of 14 genera, including , , and , is significantly reduced. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of oral microbial markers in the training cohort and validation cohort was 98.85% and 97.23%, respectively. Importantly, the AUC of the biomarker set achieved 92.44% of additional independent validation sets. In addition, EPRs also have their own unique oral community.
CONCLUSION
This study describes the characterization of the oral microbiome in EP and EPR and demonstrates the potential of the specific microbiome as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for epilepsy.
PubMed: 38107849
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1277022 -
Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology Dec 2023is an anaerobic bacterium, which has been found selectively en-riched in the fecal and mucosal microbiota of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Emerging evidence suggest...
is an anaerobic bacterium, which has been found selectively en-riched in the fecal and mucosal microbiota of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Emerging evidence suggest may contribute to the development of CRC in human. In this study, we designed a multi-epitope chimeric vaccine against PCWBR2, a recently identified adhesin that interacts directly with colon cell lines by binding α2/β1 integrin frequently overexpressed in human CRC tumors and cell lines. Immunoinformatics tools predicted six cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes, five helper T lymphocyte epitopes, and six linear B lymphocyte epitopes. The predicted epitopes were joined with AAY or GPGPG linkers and a previously reported TLR4 agonist was added to the vaccine construct's N terminal as an adjuvant using EAAAK linkers and the order of epitopes was optimized. Further analysis revealed that the vaccine construct possesses satisfactory antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, physicochemical properties, adjuvant-TLR4 molecular docking, and immune profile characteristics. Our study provided a promising design for vaccines against .
PubMed: 38099061
DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2023.11.004 -
International Journal of Clinical... Sep 2023Microorganisms induce a variety of infections and diseases in the human body and are largely ubiquitous in the nature of the contamination, directly, or indirectly...
To Evaluate and Compare the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Various Disinfecting Agents on K-file against Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacteria of Endodontic Origin: An Study.
INTRODUCTION
Microorganisms induce a variety of infections and diseases in the human body and are largely ubiquitous in the nature of the contamination, directly, or indirectly leading to transmission of infectious agents. A substantial number of bacterial species have been identified as inhabitants of the oral cavity. Infection control is a major topic of concern in medical and dental healthcare settings.
AIM
To evaluate the disinfecting ability of various herbal extracts on sterilization of endodontic files against endodontic pathogens.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study was conducted in three phases to evaluate the disinfecting ability of tea tree, , eucalyptus, and oil on sterilization of endodontic files against , β, specie and .
RESULTS
Colony-forming units (CFU) of all tested bacteria among group I (tea tree oil) were found to be significantly lower than that among group II ( oil), group III (eucalyptus oil), and group IV ( oil), respectively.
CONCLUSION
The antimicrobial activity among all the essential oils was found to be maximum for tea tree oil, followed in descending order by , eucalyptus, and oils. Hence, the incorporation of these herbs in dental practice will prove to be a valuable adjunct in dental treatment.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Herbs have also been long used in various endodontic medicaments and dressings with obtundent and soothing effects and exhibited a great microbial inhibition potential against the tested endodontic pathogens.
HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE
Opi K, Dhinsa K, Tripathi AM, To Evaluate and Compare the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Various Disinfecting Agents on K-file against Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacteria of Endodontic Origin: An Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(S-2):S161-S167.
PubMed: 38078027
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10005-2646 -
BMC Biology Dec 2023Berberine (BBR) is a commonly used anti-intestinal inflammation drug, and its anti-cancer activity has been found recently. BBR can intervene and control malignant...
BACKGROUND
Berberine (BBR) is a commonly used anti-intestinal inflammation drug, and its anti-cancer activity has been found recently. BBR can intervene and control malignant colorectal cancer (CRC) through intestinal microbes, but the direct molecular target and related mechanism are unclear. This study aimed to identify the target of BBR and dissect related mechanisms against the occurrence and development of CRC from the perspective of intestinal microorganisms.
RESULTS
Here, we found that BBR inhibits the growth of several CRC-driving bacteria, especially Peptostreptococcus anaerobius. By using a biotin-conjugated BBR derivative, we identified the protein FtfL (formate tetrahydrofolate ligase), a key enzyme in C1 metabolism, is the molecular target of BBR in P. anaerobius. BBR exhibits strong binding affinity and potent inhibition on FtfL. Based on this, we determined the crystal structure of PaFtfL (P. anaerobius FtfL)-BBR complex and found that BBR can not only interfere with the conformational flexibility of PaFtfL tetramer by wedging the tetramer interface but also compete with its substrate ATP for binding within the active center. In addition, the enzymatic activities of FtfL homologous proteins in human tumor cells can also be inhibited by BBR.
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, our study has identified FtfL as a direct target of BBR and uncovered molecular mechanisms involved in the anti-CRC of BBR. BBR interferes with intestinal pathogenic bacteria by targeting FtfLs, suggesting a new means for controlling the occurrence and development of CRC.
Topics: Humans; Berberine; Neoplasms; Intestines; Bacteria
PubMed: 38049785
DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01778-w