Selected Grantee Publications
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- 6 results found
- Microbiome
- 2022
Gut Microbiome Dysbiosis in Antibiotic-Treated COVID-19 Patients Is Associated with Microbial Translocation and Bacteremia
Bernard-Raichon et al., Nature Communications. 2022.
https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33395-6
The investigators demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 infection induced gut microbiome dysbiosis in male mice. Samples collected from human COVID-19 patients of both sexes also revealed substantial gut microbiome dysbiosis. Analysis of blood culture results testing for secondary microbial bloodstream infections with paired microbiome data indicated that bacteria might translocate from the gut into the systemic circulation of COVID-19 patients. These results were consistent with a direct role for gut microbiome dysbiosis in enabling dangerous secondary infections during COVID-19. Supported by ORIP (S10OD021747), NCI, NHLBI, NIAID, and NIDDK.
Sociability in a Non-Captive Macaque Population Is Associated with Beneficial Gut Bacteria
Johnson et al., Frontiers in Microbiology. 2022.
https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.1032495
Social connections are essential for good health and well-being in social animals, such as humans and other primates. Increasingly, evidence suggests that the gut microbiome—through the so-called “gut–brain axis”—plays a key role in physical and mental health and that bacteria can be transmitted socially (e.g., through touch). Here, the authors explore behavioral variation in non‑captive rhesus macaques of both sexes with respect to the abundance of specific bacterial genera. Their results indicate that microorganisms whose abundance varies with individual social behavior also have functional links to host immune status. Overall, these findings highlight the connections between social behavior, microbiome composition, and health in an animal population. Supported by ORIP (P40OD012217) and NIMH.
Reduced Alcohol Preference and Intake after Fecal Transplant in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder Is Transmissible to Germ-Free Mice
Wolstenholme et al., Nature Communications. 2022.
https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34054-6
Alcohol use disorder is a major cause of reduced life expectancy worldwide, and this misuse has increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fecal microbiota transplant has been shown previously to reduce alcohol craving in humans with cirrhosis. Here, the investigators report that the reduction in craving and alcohol preference is transmissible to male germ-free mice only when live bacteria—and not germ-free supernatants—are used for colonization. This differential colonization was associated with alterations in the gut immune–inflammatory response through short-chain fatty acids. Supported by ORIP (P40OD010995), NIAAA, NIDDK, and NIMH.
Targeted Suppression of Human IBD-Associated Gut Microbiota Commensals by Phage Consortia for Treatment of Intestinal Inflammation
Federici et al., Cell. 2022.
https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.003
Human gut commensals increasingly are suggested to affect noncommunicable diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), yet their targeted suppression remains an unmet challenge. In this report, investigators identified a clade of Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) strains—featuring a unique antibiotic resistance and mobilome signature—that is associated strongly with disease exacerbation and severity. Transfer of clinical IBD-associated Kp strains into colitis-prone, germ-free, and colonized mice of both sexes enhances intestinal inflammation. An orally administered combination phage therapy targeting sensitive and resistant IBD-associated Kp clade members enables effective Kp suppression, suggesting the feasibility of avoiding antibiotic resistance while effectively inhibiting noncommunicable disease–contributing pathobionts. Supported by ORIP (P40OD010995) and NIDDK.
Large Comparative Analyses of Primate Body Site Microbiomes Indicate That the Oral Microbiome Is Unique Among All Body Sites and Conserved Among Nonhuman Primates
Asangba et al., Microbiology Spectrum. 2022.
https://www.doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01643-21
Microbiomes are critical to host health and disease, but large gaps remain in the understanding of the determinants, coevolution, and variation of microbiomes across body sites and host species. Thus, researchers conducted the largest comparative study of primate microbiomes to date by investigating microbiome community composition at eight distinct body sites in 17 host species. They found that the oral microbiome is unique in exhibiting notable similarity across primate species while being distinct from the microbiomes of all other body sites and host species. This finding suggests conserved oral microbial niche specialization, despite substantial dietary and phylogenetic differences among primates. Supported by ORIP (P51OD010425, P51OD011107, P40OD010965, R01OD010980), NIA, NIAID, and NICHD.
The Early Life Microbiota Mediates Maternal Effects on Offspring Growth in a Nonhuman Primate
Petrullo et al., iScience. 2022.
https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.103948
Mammalian mothers influence offspring development by providing nutrients and other bioactive compounds through the placenta or milk. A relatively unexplored mechanism for maternal effects is vertical transmission of bacteria through milk to the infant gut. Infants that receive more glycan-utilizing bacteria from milk might better exploit oligosaccharides, which could improve nutrition and accelerate growth. Researchers found that first-time vervet mothers harbored a milk bacterial community that was less diverse due to the dominance of Bacteroides fragilis, a glycan-utilizing bacteria. These low-parity females had infants that grew faster, suggesting that vertical transmission of bacteria via milk can mediate maternal effects on growth. These results indicate non-nutritive milk constituents play important roles in development. Commercial milk formula might need to be improved or supplemented to better support infant health. Supported by ORIP (P40OD010965) and NCATS.