Project description:The gut microbiome can impact brain health and is altered in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The vermiform appendix is a lymphoid tissue implicated in the storage and regulation of the gut microbiome. Here, we investigate changes in the functional microbiome in the appendix of PD patients relative to controls by metatranscriptomic analysis. In the PD appendix, we find microbial dysbiosis affecting lipid metabolism, particularly an upregulation of bacteria responsible for secondary bile acid synthesis. Likewise, proteomic and transcript analysis in the PD gut corroborates a disruption in cholesterol homeostasis and lipid catabolism. Bile acid analysis in the PD appendix reveals an increase in the microbially-derived, toxic secondary bile acids deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA). Synucleinopathy in mice induces similar microbiome alterations to those of PD patients and heightens microbial changes to gut inflammation. As observed in PD, the mouse model of synucleinopathy has elevated DCA and LCA. Raised levels of DCA and LCA can lead to liver injury, and an analysis of blood markers of liver dysfunction shows evidence of biliary abnormalities in PD patients, including elevated alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin. Increased bilirubin levels are also evident before PD diagnosis, in individuals at-risk of developing PD. In sum, microbially-derived toxic bile acids are heightened in PD and biliary changes may even precede the onset of overt motor symptoms.
Project description:The gut microbiome can impact brain health and is altered in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The vermiform appendix is a lymphoid tissue implicated in the storage and regulation of the gut microbiome. Here, we investigate changes in the functional microbiome in the appendix of PD patients relative to controls by metatranscriptomic analysis. In the PD appendix, we find microbial dysbiosis affecting lipid metabolism, particularly an upregulation of bacteria responsible for secondary bile acid synthesis. Likewise, proteomic and transcript analysis in the PD gut corroborates a disruption in cholesterol homeostasis and lipid catabolism. Bile acid analysis in the PD appendix reveals an increase in the microbially-derived, toxic secondary bile acids deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA). Synucleinopathy in mice induces similar microbiome alterations to those of PD patients and heightens microbial changes to gut inflammation. As observed in PD, the mouse model of synucleinopathy has elevated DCA and LCA. Raised levels of DCA and LCA can lead to liver injury, and an analysis of blood markers of liver dysfunction shows evidence of biliary abnormalities in PD patients, including elevated alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin. Increased bilirubin levels are also evident before PD diagnosis, in individuals at-risk of developing PD. In sum, microbially-derived toxic bile acids are heightened in PD and biliary changes may even precede the onset of overt motor symptoms.
Project description:Bile acids are potent antibacterial compounds and play an important role in shaping the microbial ecology of the gut. Here, we combined flow cytometry, growth rate measurements (OD600), and NMR- and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to systematically profile the impact of bile acids on the microbiome using in vitro and in vivo models. This study confirmed that (1) unconjugated bile acids possess more potent antibacterial activity than conjugated bile acids; (2) Gram-positive bacteria are more sensitive to bile acids than Gram-negative bacteria; (3) some probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and 7α-dehydroxylating bacteria such as Clostridium scindens show bile acid resistance that is associated with activation of glycolysis. Moreover, we demonstrated that (4) as one of most hydrophobic bile acids, lithocholic acid (LCA) shows reduced toxicity to bacteria in the cecal microbiome in both in vivo and in vitro models; (5) bile acids directly and rapidly affect bacterial global metabolism including membrane damage, disrupted amino acid, nucleotide, and carbohydrate metabolism; and (6) in vivo, short-term exposure to bile acids significantly affected host metabolism via alterations of the bacterial community structure. This study systematically profiled interactions between bile acids and gut bacteria providing validation of previous observation and new insights into the interaction of bile acids with the microbiome and mechanisms related to bile acid tolerance.
Project description:Metabolic products of the microbiota can alter hematopoiesis. However, the contribution and site of action of bile acids is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that the secondary bile acids, deoxycholic acid (DCA), and lithocholic acid (LCA) increase bone marrow myelopoiesis. Treatment of bone marrow cells with DCA and LCA preferentially expanded immunophenotypic and functional (CFU-GM) granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs). DCA treatment of sorted hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) increased CFU-GMs, indicating that direct exposure of HSPCs to DCA sufficed to expand GMPs. We determined that the vitamin D receptor (VDR) was required for the DCA-induced increase in CFU-GMs and GMPs. Finally, single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that DCA significantly upregulated genes associated with myeloid differentiation and proliferation in GMPs. The action of DCA on HSPCs to expand GMPs in a VDR-dependent manner suggests a mechanism for how microbiome-host interactions may directly impact bone marrow hematopoiesis and the severity of infectious and inflammatory disease.
Project description:Investigation of whole genome gene expression level changes in a Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 delta-ungD1 delta-ungD2 double mutant compared to the wild-type strain. Keywords: expression analysis A six chip study using total RNA recovered from three separate wild-type cultures of Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 and three separate cultures of a double mutant strain, Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 delta-ungD1 delta-ungD2, in which ungD1 (BF1706) and ungD2 (BF2848) are deleted. Each chip measures the expression level of 4,302 genes from Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 and the associated plasmid pBF9343 with fourteen 24-mer probe pairs (PM/MM) per gene, with three-fold technical redundancy.
Project description:The gut microbiota and innate immune system play critical roles in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Bacteroides is elevated in AD patients and correlates with cerebrospinal fluid levels of Aβ and tau. We found that increased amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in Bacteroides fragilis treated APP/PS1-21 mice were associated with altered cortical expression Aβ processing genes. B. fragilis suppressed peripheral CD4+ T cell production of GM-CSF and IL-4 and transcriptional changes in microglia related to GM-CSF and IL-4 signaling, phagocytosis, and protein degradation. Furthermore, B. fragilis impaired the microglial uptake of intracranially injected Aβ42, whereas Erysipelotrichaceae strains increased uptake. Depleting murine Bacteroidetes with metronidazole decreased amyloid load in aged 5xFAD mice, increased CD4+ T cell GM-CSF production, and activated microglial pathways related to cytokine signaling, phagocytosis and lysosomal degradation. These data suggest that the gut microbiome may contribute to AD pathogenesis by suppressing peripheral cytokines and microglia phagocytic function, leading to impaired immune-mediated Aβ clearance.
Project description:Investigation of whole genome gene expression level changes in a Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 delta-gmd-fcl delta-fkp mutant strain and a Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 delta-lfg mutant strain, each as compared to the wild-type strain. The mutations engineered into these strains interfere with B. fragilis protein glycosylation.
Project description:Investigation of whole genome gene expression level changes in a Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 delta-ungD1 delta-ungD2 delta-PSH triple mutant, compared to the wild-type strain. The mutations engineered into this strain render it acapsular. The mutants analyzed in this study are further described in Coyne, M. J., M. Chatzidaki-Livanis, L. C. Paoletti, and L. E. Comstock. 2008. Role of glycan synthesis in colonization of the mammalian gut by the bacterial symbiont Bacteroides fragilis. PNAS 105(35):13098-13103 (PID 18723678). A six chip study using total RNA recovered from three separate wild-type cultures of Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 and three separate cultures of a triple mutant strain, Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 delta-ungD1 delta-ungD2 delta-PSH, in which ungD1 (BF1706), ungD2 (BF2848), and six genes (BF3454 through BF3459) of the PSH capsular polysaccharide locus are truncated or deleted entirely. Each chip measures the expression level of 4,302 genes from Bacteroides fragilis NCTC 9343 and the associated plasmid pBF9343 with fourteen 24-mer probe pairs (PM/MM) per gene, with three-fold technical redundancy.
Project description:UPLC-MS/MS data used to confirm the retention times of bile acid conjugates to GABA and tyramine that were detected in microbial culture and human fecal samples. Synthesized conjugates included here are GABA-deoxycholic acid, tyramine-deoxycholic acid, GABA-cholic acid, tyramine-cholic acid, GABA-chenodeoxycholic acid, and tyramine-chenodeoxycholic acid. Data of biological samples (B. fragilis P207 spiked with DCA, healthy human donor 11 feces, patient 207 v12 feces) from the same UPLCMS/MS sequence is included for comparison and validation. All using positive ionization.
Project description:Genome expression study of Bacteroides fragilis ATCC25285 strain containing the EcfO gene constitutively expressed from plasmid pFD340