BACKGROUND: Recently, the oral oncobacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), has been linked with ulcerative colitis (UC). Here, we aim to investigate whether Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) can alleviate UC by restoring gut microbiota and eliminating oral-derived F. nucleatum and virulence factor fadA.
METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a healthy control group (HC), Dextran Sulfate Sodium group (DSS), oral inoculation group (OR), upper FMT group (UFMT), and lower FMT group (LFMT). Disease activity index, body weight, survival rate, and histopathological scores were used to measure the severity of colitis. The function of the intestinal mucosal barrier was evaluated by performing immunohistochemical staining of the tight junction protein Occludin. Real-time PCR was used to assess the relative abundance of the nusG gene and the virulence gene fadA. Cytokine levels were detected by ELISA. Full-length sequencing of 16S rRNA was used to analyze the changes and composition of gut microbiota.
RESULTS: Oral incubation of F. nucleatum further exacerbated the severity of colitis and gut dysbiosis. Peptostreptococcaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Escherichia coli were significantly enriched in OR mice. However, LFMT mice showed an obvious decrease in disease activity and were more effective in restoring gut microbiota and eliminating F. nucleatum than UFMT mice. Bacteroidota, Lachnospiraceae, and Prevotellaceae were mainly enriched bacteria in LFMT mice. In addition, Genera such as Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, and Bacteroidales were found negative correlation with TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Genera like Romboutsia, Escherichia Shigella, Enterococcus, and Clostridium were found positively correlated with TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6.
CONCLUSIONS: Oral incubation of F. nucleatum further exacerbates the severity and dysbiosis in DSS-induced colitis mice. Besides, lower tract FMT can ameliorate colitis by restoring the gut microbiota diversity and eliminating F. nucleatum and virulence factor fadA.

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the role played by the oral microbiome in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and its potential implications for disease management and development holds significant importance. With the objective of exploring correlations between the oral microbiota and severe psoriasis, this study involved 72 severe psoriasis patients and 16 healthy individuals, whose clinical manifestations and living habits were carefully recorded. Cutting-edge techniques such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were employed to compare the microbial flora, investigating dynamic changes among severe plaque psoriasis patients, psoriatic arthritis patients and healthy individuals. The findings revealed noteworthy patterns including increased levels of Aggregatibacter in the psoriatic arthritis group, accompanied by a decrease in the level of Prevotella. Moreover, the enrichment o Capnocytandophaga (P = 0.009), Campylobacter (P = 0.0022), and Acetobacter (P = 0.0292) was notably more substantial in the psoriasis group compared to the control group, whereas certain bacterial species such as Bacteroides (P = 0.0049), Muribaculaceae (P = 0.0048) demonstrated decreased enrichment. Additionally, the psoriatic arthritis group exhibited significantly higher levels of Ralstonia, Bifidobacterium and Micromonospora. Based on these findings, it can be inferred that individuals with lower levels of Prevotella and higher levels of Corynebacterium may be more susceptible to psoriasis exacerbation.

Gel lubrication is routinely used during gynecological examination to prevent or reduce pain, yet its impact on microbial composition during sampling remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether lubricating gel affects the microbial composition of vaginal samples. We included 31 pregnant women presenting during their third trimester to clinics or emergency room and collected 143 unique vaginal samples for 16S amplicon microbial analysis. Vaginal samples were obtained using sterile swabs under various conditions: without gel-immediately frozen (n = 30), with gel-immediately frozen, without gel-at room temperature (RT) for 5 h before freezing, with gel-at RT for 5 h before freezing, and additional sampling after 24 h without gel-immediate freezing. We found that sample collection with gel lubrication influenced specimen quality-half of the gel samples failing to meet processing limitation compared to those without gel. The effect of gel on testing quality dissipated after 24 h. However, when samples met post-sequencing filters, gel lubrication did not alter the microbial composition, individual taxa abundance or alpha and beta diversity. We recommend sampling either before gel exposure or 24 h after. These findings underscore the importance of considering sample collection methodologies in vaginal microbiome studies to ensure high-quality microbial data for accurate analysis.

Host-microbiota interactions play a critical role in the hosts\' biology, and thus, it is crucial to elucidate the mechanisms that shape gut microbial communities. We leveraged threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) as a model system to investigate the contribution of host and environmental factors to gut microbiota variation. These fish offer a unique opportunity for experiments in naturalistic conditions; we reared benthic and limnetic ecotypes from three different lakes in experimental ponds, allowing us to assess the relative effects of shared environment (pond), geographic origin (lake-of-origin), trophic ecology and genetics (ecotype) and biological sex on gut microbiota α- and β-diversity. Host ecotype had the strongest influence on α-diversity, with benthic fish exhibiting higher diversity than limnetic fish, followed by the rearing environment. β-diversity was primarily shaped by rearing environment, followed by host ecotype, indicating that environmental factors play a crucial role in determining gut microbiota composition. Furthermore, numerous bacterial orders were differentially abundant across ponds, underlining the substantial contribution of environmental factors to gut microbiota variation. Our study illustrates the complex interplay between environmental and host ecological or genetic factors in shaping the stickleback gut microbiota and highlights the value of experiments conducted under naturalistic conditions for understanding gut microbiota dynamics.

UNASSIGNED: Sepsis claims 1 in 5 lives annually as per global statistics. Sepsis incidence in recent studies represents at least 35 % of all ICU admissions and has a high mortality rate, especially in the presence of co-existing morbidities. The challenge has been to accurately diagnose the causative organism, considering factors such as possible polymicrobial infections, commensals and environmental contaminants. Legacy techniques such as culture, automated culture systems or even newer species-specific PCR or film array these challenges difficult to overcome. The Bactfast® and Fungifast® assays along with the integrated workflow is based on next generation sequencing and have the ability to demarcate infecting pathogen from contamination and commensal. The unique ability to pinpoint the exact pathogen, considering the commensal and contamination in a variety of samples, with an extremely high sensitivity could lead it to be a tool of diagnostic choice for non-resolving ICU sepsis due to its comprehensive coverage and speed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of Bactfast® and Fungifast® as a last mile diagnostic tool in a ICU setting.
UNASSIGNED: This study was carried out considering access to four intensive care units (ICU). Legacy testing, mostly done on culture, was conducted at the various integrated microbiology facilities of the hospitals where the ICUs were located, in Chennai, India. NABL accredited laboratory Micro Genomics (India) Pvt Ltd, was established as the central processing facility for next generation sequencing to run the Bactfast® and Fungifast® assay. Co-relation of results for 490 samples was done retrospectively by a multi-disciplinary team of consultants which comprised of microbiologists, and infectious disease physicians.
UNASSIGNED: The diagnostic workflow established with the Bactfast® assay provided a sensitivity of 94.1 % and specificity of 86.6 %. Identification of pathogens in Bactfast® was better when compared to the data published in 2017, as reflected by positive co-relation with clinical confirmation. Although the Fungifast® specificity was high, at 99.4 %, only 12 samples were positive on fungal culture out of 490 samples. Therefore, it was concluded a further study for fungi based on multiple technologies with more true positive samples is required to evaluate the test.
UNASSIGNED: Bactfast® can identify pathogens in a sample without any bias. Its introduction as diagnostic modality in life threatening ICU sepsis could reduce mortality and morbidity. Although the initial results of Fungifast® are encouraging a further research is required for more information on test sensitivity.

Obesity, along with metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, various cancers, and other non-communicable diseases, thereby contributing to higher mortality rates. The intestinal microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis and influencing human metabolism. This study enrolled 82 young obese individuals, who were stratified into groups with or without metabolic disturbances. No significant differences in the alpha or beta diversity of the microbiota were observed among the groups. Insulin resistance was characterized by an increase in the number of Adlercreutzia and Dialister as well as a decrease in Collinsella, Coprococcus and Clostridiales. The dyslipidemia and dyslipidemia+insulin resistance groups had no significant differences in the gut microbiota. Dietary patterns also influenced microbial composition, with high protein intake increasing Leuconostoc and Akkermansia, and high fiber intake boosting Lactobacillus and Streptococcus. The genus Erwinia was associated with increases in visceral fat and serum glucose as well as a decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Our findings highlight a significant association between gut microbiota composition and metabolic disturbances in young obese individuals, and they suggest that dietary modifications may promote a healthy microbiome and reduce the risk of developing metabolic disorders.

Alzheimer\'s disease (AD) is characterized by cognitive decline and neuropathology including amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (tau). Factors initiating or driving these pathologies remain unclear, though microbes have been increasingly implicated. Our data and others\' findings indicate that microbes may be common constituents of the brain. It is notable that Aβ and tau have antimicrobial properties, suggesting a response to microbes in the brain. We used 16S rRNA sequencing to compare major bacterial phyla in post-mortem tissues from individuals exhibiting a range of neuropathology and cognitive status in two brain regions variably affected in AD. Our data indicate that strong regional differences exist, driven in part by the varied presence of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. We confirmed our data using ELISA of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid in the same brain tissue. We identified a potential association between the composition of phyla and the presence of neuropathology but not cognitive status. Declining cognition and increasing pathology correlated closely with serum LPS, but not brain levels of LPS, although brain LPS showed a strong negative correlation with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Collectively, our data suggest a region-specific heterogeneity of microbial populations in brain tissue potentially associated with neurodegenerative pathology.

UNASSIGNED: Forsythoside A (FSA) was extracted from Forsythia suspensa, a traditional Chinese medicine, which has been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and other pharmacological effects. However, the anticancer effect of FSA in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has not been documented.
UNASSIGNED: The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of FSA against ESCC.
UNASSIGNED: Network pharmacology and molecular docking were employed to predict the mechanism. FSA was utilized to treat ESCC cell lines KYSE450 and KYSE30, followed by CCK-8 assay, cell cloning formation assay, flow cytometry, Western blot, RNA-seq analysis, and subsequent in vivo experiments.
UNASSIGNED: Network pharmacology and molecular docking predicted that the therapeutic effect of FSA in ESCC is mediated through proteins such as BCL2 and BAX, influencing KEGG pathways associated with apoptosis. In vitro experiments showed that FSA inhibited cell proliferation and plate clone formation, promoted cell apoptosis and impacted the cell cycle distribution of G2/M phase by regulating BCL2, BAX, and p21. Further RNA-seq in KYSE450 cells showed that FSA regulated the expression of 223 genes, specifically affecting the biological process of epidermal development. In vivo experiments showed that gastric administration of FSA resulted in notable reductions in both tumor volume and weight by regulating BCL2, BAX, and p21. 16S rRNA sequencing showed that FSA led to significant changes of beta diversity. Abundance of 11 specific bacterial taxa were considerably changed following administration of FSA.
UNASSIGNED: This study presents a novel candidate drug against ESCC and establishes a foundation for future clinical application.

UNASSIGNED: Pediatric solid tumors are a common malignant disease in children, and more and more studies have proved that there is an inseparable relationship between adult tumors and intestinal microbiome, but the changes in the intestinal microbiota of pediatric solid tumor (PST) patients have been scarcely examined. This study aims to examine the differences in the intestinal microbiota features between patients diagnosed with PST and healthy controls (HCs).
UNASSIGNED: To elucidate the unique characteristics of the gut microbiota in pediatric patients with solid tumors, we recruited 23 PST patients and 20 HCs. A total of 43 stool samples were gathered, and then 16S rRNA sequencing was performed.
UNASSIGNED: We noticed a noticeable pattern of elevated diversity in the gut microbiota within the PST groups. The differences in microbial communities among two groups were remarkable, regarding the analysis at the class level, the abundance of Bacilli was markedly increased in PST patients compared to HCs (P < 0.05), regarding the analysis at the genus level, The presence of Enterococcus was significantly higher in PST cases compared to HCs (P < 0.01), while Lachnospiraceae unclassified, Lachnospira, Haemophilus and Colidextribacter in PST cases, the abundance was significantly reduced. (P < 0.05), 6 genera, including Bacilli, Lactobacillales, Enterococcaceae and Morganella, showed a significant enrichment compared to healthy controls, while 10 genera, including Bilophila, Colidextribacter, Pasteurellales, Haemophilus, Lachnospiraceae unclassified, Lachnospira and Fusobacteriales, were significant reduction in the PST groups.
UNASSIGNED: Our research conducted the characterization analysis of the gut microbiota in PST patients for the first time. More importantly, there are some notable differences in the gut microbiota between PST patients and healthy controls, which we believe is an interesting finding.

UNASSIGNED: Stringent regulations in pig farming, such as antibiotic control and the ban on certain additives and disinfectants, complicate disease control efforts. Despite the evolution of microbial communities inside the house environment, they maintain stability over the years, exhibiting characteristics specific to each type of production and, in some cases, unique to a particular company or farm production type. In addition, some infectious diseases are recurrent in specific farms, while other farms never present these diseases, suggesting a connection between the presence of these microorganisms in animals or their environment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise environmental microbiomes of farms with high and low sanitary status, establishing the relationships between both, health status, environmental microbial ecology and its functionality.
UNASSIGNED: For this purpose, 6 pig farms were environmentally sampled. Farms were affiliated with a production company that handle the majority of the pigs slaughtered in Spain. This study investigated the relationship among high health and low health status farms using high throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In addition, to identify ecologically relevant functions and potential pathogens based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained, functional Annotation with PROkaryotic TAXa (FAPROTAX) was performed.
UNASSIGNED: This study reveals notable differences in microbial communities between farms with persistent health issues and those with good health outcomes, suggesting a need for protocols tailored to address specific challenges. The variation in microbial populations among farms underscores the need for specific and eco-friendly cleaning and disinfection protocols. These measures are key to enhancing the sustainability of livestock farming, ensuring safer products and boosting competitive edge in the market.