Project description:Morphine causes microbial dysbiosis. In this study we focused on restoration of native microbiota in morphine treated mice and looked at the extent of restoration and immunological consequences of this restoration. Fecal transplant has been successfully used clinically, especially for treating C. difficile infection2528. With our expanding knowledge of the central role of microbiome in maintenance of host immune homeostasis17, fecal transplant is gaining importance as a therapy for indications resulting from microbial dysbiosis. There is a major difference between fecal transplant being used for the treatment of C. difficile infection and the conditions described in our studies. The former strategy is based on the argument that microbial dysbiosis caused by disproportionate overgrowth of a pathobiont can be out-competed by re-introducing the missing flora by way of a normal microbiome transplant. This strategy is independent of host factors and systemic effects on the microbial composition. Here, we show that microbial dysbiosis caused due to morphine can be reversed by transplantation of microbiota from the placebo-treated animals.
Project description:Morphine and its pharmacological derivatives are the most prescribed analgesics for moderate to severe pain management. However, chronic use of morphine reduces pathogen clearance and induces bacterial translocation across the gut barrier. The enteric microbiome has been shown to play a critical role in the preservation of the mucosal barrier function and metabolic homeostasis. Here, we show for the first time, using bacterial 16s rDNA sequencing, that chronic morphine treatment significantly alters the gut microbial composition and induces preferential expansion of the gram-positive pathogenic and reduction of bile-deconjugating bacterial strains. A significant reduction in both primary and secondary bile acid levels was seen in the gut, but not in the liver with morphine treatment. Morphine induced microbial dysbiosis and gut barrier disruption was rescued by transplanting placebo-treated microbiota into morphine-treated animals, indicating that microbiome modulation could be exploited as a therapeutic strategy for patients using morphine for pain management. In this study, we establish a link between the two phenomena, namely gut barrier compromise and dysregulated bile acid metabolism. We show for the first time that morphine fosters significant gut microbial dysbiosis and disrupts cholesterol/bile acid metabolism. Changes in the gut microbial composition is strongly correlated to disruption in host inflammatory homeostasis13,14 and in many diseases (e.g. cancer/HIV infection), persistent inflammation is known to aid and promote the progression of the primary morbidity. We show here that chronic morphine, gut microbial dysbiosis, disruption of cholesterol/bile acid metabolism and gut inflammation; have a linear correlation. This opens up the prospect of devising minimally invasive adjunct treatment strategies involving microbiome and bile acid modulation and thus bringing down morphine-mediated inflammation in the host.
Project description:A leading cause of morbidity and mortality during influenza infection is the development of a secondary bacterial pneumonia, which is appropriately treated with antibiotics. In the absence of a bacterial superinfection, prescribing antibiotics is not indicated but has nevertheless become a common clinical practice for those presenting with a respiratory viral illness. We found that antibiotic use during an antecedent influenza infection impaired the lung innate immunologic defenses toward a secondary challenge with methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA). The antibiotics perturbed the gut microbiome causing a fungal dysbiosis that drives an increase in lung eosinophils. We also demonstrate eosinophils, through the release of major basic protein, impair macrophage ability to clear MRSA. Moreover, we provide clinical evidence that eosinophils positively correlate with antibiotic use and worsened outcomes in patients hospitalized for viral infections. Altogether, our work establishes a counterproductive effect of antibiotic treatment during influenza infection that have negative immunologic consequences in the lungs thereby increasing the risk of developing a secondary bacterial infection.
Project description:A leading cause of morbidity and mortality during influenza infection is the development of a secondary bacterial pneumonia, which is appropriately treated with antibiotics. In the absence of a bacterial superinfection, prescribing antibiotics is not indicated but has nevertheless become a common clinical practice for those presenting with a respiratory viral illness. We found that antibiotic use during an antecedent influenza infection impaired the lung innate immunologic defenses toward a secondary challenge with methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA). The antibiotics perturbed the gut microbiome causing a fungal dysbiosis that drives an increase in lung eosinophils. We also demonstrate eosinophils, through the release of major basic protein, impair macrophage ability to clear MRSA. Moreover, we provide clinical evidence that eosinophils positively correlate with antibiotic use and worsened outcomes in patients hospitalized for viral infections. Altogether, our work establishes a counterproductive effect of antibiotic treatment during influenza infection that have negative immunologic consequences in the lungs thereby increasing the risk of developing a secondary bacterial infection.