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Pharmacological Research Jul 2023Metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and obesity, have become a major public health problem worldwide.... (Review)
Review
Metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and obesity, have become a major public health problem worldwide. In recent years, most research on the role of gut microbes in metabolic diseases has focused on bacteria, whereas fungal microbes have been neglected. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of gut fungal alterations in T2DM, obesity, and NAFLD, and to discuss the mechanisms associated with disease development. In addition, several novel strategies targeting gut mycobiome and/or their metabolites to improve T2DM, obesity and NAFLD, including fungal probiotics, antifungal drugs, dietary intervention, and fecal microbiota transplantation, are critically discussed. The accumulated evidence suggests that gut mycobiome plays an important role in the occurrence and development of metabolic diseases. The possible mechanisms by which the gut mycobiome affects metabolic diseases include fungal-induced immune responses, fungal-bacterial interactions, and fungal-derived metabolites. Candida albicans, Aspergillus and Meyerozyma may be potential pathogens of metabolic diseases because they can activate the immune system and/or produce harmful metabolites. Moreover, Saccharomyces boulardii, S. cerevisiae, Alternaria, and Cochliobolus fungi may have the potential to improve metabolic diseases. The information may provide an important reference for the development of new therapeutics for metabolic diseases based on gut mycobiome.
Topics: Humans; Mycobiome; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Obesity; Bacteria
PubMed: 37244385
DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106807 -
Nature Aug 2023A growing body of literature suggests that alterations in the human microbiome are causative of disease initiation and progression. Aykut et al. present data supporting...
A growing body of literature suggests that alterations in the human microbiome are causative of disease initiation and progression. Aykut et al. present data supporting the argument that alterations in the gut fungal microbiome (the “mycobiome”), along with the presence of fungal elements within pancreatic tissue (specifically those of the genus , are associated with pancreatic oncogenesis. Upon analyzing the human sequencing data presented in the original manuscript, we found few fungal reads in pancreatic tissue samples and did not identify differences in pancreatic or gut mycobiome composition between healthy and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. Our re-analysis of these data does not support an association between an intrinsic pancreatic mycobiome and the development of human PDAC, and illustrates the challenges in analyzing microbiome sequencing data from low biomass samples.
Topics: Humans; Mycobiome; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Pancreas; Carcinogenesis
PubMed: 37532819
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06292-1 -
Current Opinion in Microbiology Oct 2023Over the past decade, our understanding of the composition and function of the human mucosal surface-associated fungal community (i.e. the mycobiome) has rapidly... (Review)
Review
Over the past decade, our understanding of the composition and function of the human mucosal surface-associated fungal community (i.e. the mycobiome) has rapidly expanded. Fungi colonize at various sites of the mucosal surface at birth and play important roles in the development and homeostasis of immune system throughout adulthood. Here, we review the recent research progresses in the human mycobiome at different body sites, including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the respiratory tract, the urogenital tract, the oral cavity, the skin surface, and the tumor tissues. Researchers have made extensive effort in characterizing the interactions between mycobiome and immune system, especially in the GI tract. We discuss the mycobiome dysbiosis and its implications to the progression of diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases, alcoholic liver diseases, systemic infections, cancers, and so on, indicating the potential of mycobiome-targeting intervention strategy for life-threatening diseases.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Adult; Mycobiome; Fungi; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Respiratory System
PubMed: 37527562
DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2023.102361 -
Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS Jan 2018There are a limited number of studies investigating the association between the microbiome and HIV. Although the majority of these published investigations have focused... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
There are a limited number of studies investigating the association between the microbiome and HIV. Although the majority of these published investigations have focused on the role of the bacterial community (bacteriome) in this setting, a handful of studies have also characterized the role of the mycobiome in HIV-infected individuals. This review will summarize the most recent reports pertaining to the role of the fungal community in HIV.
RECENT FINDINGS
Differences in the composition of the oral and respiratory mycobiome in HIV-infected individuals compared with uninfected individuals have been reported.
SUMMARY
Our review shows that studies investigating the role of the mycobiome in the setting of HIV are severely lacking. With recent advances in our understanding of the composition of the human microbiome, investigations into the role of the bacteria and fungus comprising the overall microbiota and how the two interact to influence each other and the host is crucial.
Topics: HIV Infections; Humans; Microbiota; Mouth; Mycobiome; Respiratory System
PubMed: 29028668
DOI: 10.1097/COH.0000000000000432 -
Gut Microbes 2022Fungal communities (mycobiome) have an important role in sustaining the resilience of complex microbial communities and maintenance of homeostasis. The mycobiome remains...
Fungal communities (mycobiome) have an important role in sustaining the resilience of complex microbial communities and maintenance of homeostasis. The mycobiome remains relatively unexplored compared to the bacteriome despite increasing evidence highlighting their contribution to host-microbiome interactions in health and disease. Despite being a small proportion of the total species, fungi constitute a large proportion of the biomass within the human microbiome and thus serve as a potential target for metabolic reprogramming in pathogenesis and disease mechanism. Metabolites produced by fungi shape host niches, induce immune tolerance and changes in their levels prelude changes associated with metabolic diseases and cancer. Given the complexity of microbial interactions, studying the metabolic interplay of the mycobiome with both host and microbiome is a demanding but crucial task. However, genome-scale modelling and synthetic biology can provide an integrative platform that allows elucidation of the multifaceted interactions between mycobiome, microbiome and host. The inferences gained from understanding mycobiome interplay with other organisms can delineate the key role of the mycobiome in pathophysiology and reveal its role in human disease.
Topics: Fungi; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Microbial Interactions; Microbiota; Mycobiome
PubMed: 36151873
DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2022.2121576 -
Microbiology Spectrum Feb 2023The gut microbiota plays an essential role in the regulation of the immune system and the etiology of human autoimmune diseases. However, a holistic understanding of the...
The gut microbiota plays an essential role in the regulation of the immune system and the etiology of human autoimmune diseases. However, a holistic understanding of the gut bacteriome, mycobiome, and virome in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) remains lacking. Here, we explored the gut microbiotas of 44 OA patients and 46 healthy volunteers via deep whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing of their fecal samples. The gut bacteriome and mycobiome were analyzed using a reference-based strategy. Gut viruses were identified from the metagenomic assembled contigs, and the gut virome was profiled based on 6,567 nonredundant viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs). We revealed that the gut microbiome (including bacteriome, mycobiome, and virome) of OA patients is fundamentally altered, characterized by a panel of 279 differentially abundant bacterial species, 10 fungal species, and 627 vOTUs. The representative OA-enriched bacteria included Anaerostipes hadrus (GENOME147149), sp900313215 (GENOME08259), Eubacterium_E hallii (GENOME000299), and A (GENOME001004), while Bacteroides plebeius A (GENOME239725), Roseburia inulinivorans (GENOME 001770), sp900343095 (GENOME075103), Phascolarctobacterium faecium (GENOME233517), and several members of and were depleted in OA patients. Fungi such as Debaryomyces fabryi (GenBank accession no. GCA_003708665), Candida parapsilosis (GCA_000182765), and Apophysomyces trapeziformis (GCA_000696975) were enriched in the OA gut microbiota, and Malassezia restricta (GCA_003290485), Aspergillus fumigatus (GCA_003069565), Mucor circinelloides (GCA_010203745) were depleted. The OA-depleted viruses spanned (95 vOTUs), (70 vOTUs), and (5 vOTUs), while 30 vOTUs were enriched in OA patients. Functional analysis of the gut bacteriome and virome also uncovered their functional signatures in relation to OA. Moreover, we demonstrated that the OA-associated gut bacterial and viral signatures are tightly interconnected, suggesting that they may impact disease together. Finally, we showed that the multikingdom signatures are effective in discriminating the OA patients from healthy controls, suggesting the potential of gut microbiota for the prediction of OA and related diseases. Our results delineated the fecal bacteriome, mycobiome, and virome landscapes of the OA microbiota and provided biomarkers that will aid in future mechanistic and clinical intervention studies. The gut microbiome of OA patients was completely altered compared to that in healthy individuals, including 279 differentially abundant bacterial species, 10 fungal species and 627 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs). Functional analysis of the gut bacteriome and virome also revealed their functional signatures in relation to OA. We found that OA-associated gut bacterial and viral signatures were tightly interconnected, indicating that they may affect the disease together. The OA patients can be discriminated effectively from healthy controls using the multikingdom signatures, suggesting the potential of gut microbiota for the prediction of OA and related diseases.
Topics: Humans; Mycobiome; Virome; Microbiota; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Viruses; Bacteria
PubMed: 36515546
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01711-22 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2020Asthma is a group of inflammatory conditions that compromises the airways of a continuously increasing number of people around the globe. Its complex etiology comprises... (Review)
Review
Asthma is a group of inflammatory conditions that compromises the airways of a continuously increasing number of people around the globe. Its complex etiology comprises both genetic and environmental aspects, with the intestinal and lung microbiomes emerging as newly implicated factors that can drive and aggravate asthma. Longitudinal infant cohort studies combined with mechanistic studies in animal models have identified microbial signatures causally associated with subsequent asthma risk. The recent inclusion of fungi in human microbiome surveys has revealed that microbiome signatures associated with asthma risk are not limited to bacteria, and that fungi are also implicated in asthma development in susceptible individuals. In this review, we examine the unique properties of human-associated and environmental fungi, which confer them the ability to influence immune development and allergic responses. The important contribution of fungi to asthma development and exacerbations prompts for their inclusion in current and future asthma studies in humans and animal models.
Topics: Animals; Asthma; Fungi; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Infant; Microbiota; Mycobiome
PubMed: 33324573
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.583418 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Jul 2022Mycobiota modulate immunity and behavior.
Mycobiota modulate immunity and behavior.
Topics: Animals; Candida; Clostridioides difficile; Clostridium Infections; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Immunity; Mice; Microbial Interactions; Mycobiome
PubMed: 35857570
DOI: 10.1126/science.abq6056 -
Virulence Apr 2017Skin constantly encounters external elements, including microbes. Culture-based studies have identified fungi present on human skin and have linked some species with... (Review)
Review
Skin constantly encounters external elements, including microbes. Culture-based studies have identified fungi present on human skin and have linked some species with certain skin diseases. Moreover, modern medical treatments, especially immunosuppressants, have increased the population at risk for cutaneous and invasive fungal infections, emphasizing the need to understand skin fungal communities in health and disease. A major hurdle for studying fungal flora at a community level has been the heterogeneous culture conditions required by skin fungi. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies have dramatically expanded our knowledge of the skin microbiome through culture-free methods. This review discusses historical and recent research on skin fungal communities - the mycobiome - in health and disease, and challenges associated with sequencing-based mycobiome research.
Topics: Fungi; Health; Humans; Microbiota; Mycobiome; Mycoses; Skin
PubMed: 27754756
DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2016.1249093 -
Cancer Letters Aug 2023A variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, archaea and protozoa coexists within the mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) tract such as that fungi are detectable in all... (Review)
Review
A variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, archaea and protozoa coexists within the mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) tract such as that fungi are detectable in all intestinal and colon segments in almost all healthy adults. Although fungi can cause infectious diseases, they are also related to gut and systemic homeostasis. Importantly, through transformation of different forms such as from yeast to hyphae, interaction among gut microbiota such as fungal and bacterial interaction, host factors such as immune and host derived factors, and fungus genetic and epigenetic factors, fungi can be transformed from commensal into pathogenic lifestyles. Recent studies have shown that fungi play a significant role in the occurrence and development of tumors such as colorectal cancer. Indeed, evidences have shown that multiple species of different fungi exist in different tumors. Studies have also demonstrated that fungi are related to the occurrence and development of tumors, and also survival of patients. Here we summarize recent advances in the transformation of fungi from commensal into pathogenic lifestyles, and the effects of gut pathogenic fungi on the occurrence and development of tumors such as colorectal and pancreatic cancers.
Topics: Adult; Animals; Humans; Mycobiome; Fungi; Gastrointestinal Tract; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Bacteria; Neoplasms; Mammals
PubMed: 37451425
DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216302