Project description:Antibiotic use is a risk factor for development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). IBDs are characterized by a damaged mucus layer, which does not properly separate the host intestinal epithelium from the microbiota. Here, we hypothesized that antibiotics might affect the integrity of the mucus barrier. By systematically determining the effects of different antibiotics on mucus layer penetrability we found that oral antibiotic treatment led to breakdown of the mucus barrier and penetration of bacteria into the mucus layer. Using fecal microbiota transplant, RNA sequencing followed by machine learning and ex vivo mucus secretion measurements, we determined that antibiotic treatment induces ER stress and inhibits colonic mucus secretion in a microbiota-independent manner. This mucus secretion flaw led to penetration of bacteria into the colonic mucus layer, translocation of microbial antigens into circulation and exacerbation of ulcerations in a mouse model of IBD. Thus, antibiotic use might predispose to development of intestinal inflammation by impeding mucus production.
Project description:Antibiotic use is a risk factor for development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). IBDs are characterized by a damaged mucus layer, which does not properly separate the host intestinal epithelium from the microbiota. Here, we hypothesized that antibiotics might affect the integrity of the mucus barrier. By systematically determining the effects of different antibiotics on mucus layer penetrability we found that oral antibiotic treatment led to breakdown of the mucus barrier and penetration of bacteria into the mucus layer. Using fecal microbiota transplant, RNA sequencing followed by machine learning and ex vivo mucus secretion measurements, we determined that antibiotic treatment induces ER stress and inhibits colonic mucus secretion in a microbiota-independent manner. This mucus secretion flaw led to penetration of bacteria into the colonic mucus layer, translocation of microbial antigens into circulation and exacerbation of ulcerations in a mouse model of IBD. Thus, antibiotic use might predispose to development of intestinal inflammation by impeding mucus production.
Project description:As tissue macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), microglia are critically involved in diseases of the CNS. However, it remains unknown what controls their maturation and activation under homeostatic conditions. Here we reveal significant contributions of the host microbiota to microglia homeostasis as germ-free (GF) mice displayed global defects in microglia with altered cell proportions and an immature phenotype leading to impaired innate immune responses. Temporal eradication of host microbiota severely changed microglia properties. Limited microbiota complexity also resulted in defective microglia. In contrast, recolonization with a complex microbiota partially restored microglia features. We determined that short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), microbiota-derived bacterial fermentation products, regulate microglia homeostasis. Accordingly, mice deficient for the SCFA receptor FFAR2 mirrored microglia defects found under GF conditions. These findings reveal that host bacteria vitally regulate microglia maturation and function, whereas microglia impairment can be restored to some extent by complex microbiota. We used microarrays to determine the gene expression of microglia after LCMV challenge. Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus (LCMV) strain WE was propagated and titrated as plaque forming units (PFU) on L929 cells as described before (Herz,J. et al. Acid sphingomyelinase is a key regulator of cytotoxic granule secretion by primary T lymphocytes. Nat. Immunol. 10, 761-768 (2009)). PFU were multiplied by the factor 10 to be converted into infectious units (IU). Mice were infected by intracerebral inoculation of 103 IU into the right hemisphere.
Project description:Human saliva microbiota is phylogenetically divergent among host individuals yet their roles in health and disease are poorly appreciated. We employed a microbial functional gene microarray, HuMiChip 1.0, to reconstruct the global functional profiles of human saliva microbiota from ten healthy and ten caries-active adults. Saliva microbiota in the pilot population featured a vast diversity of functional genes. No significant distinction in gene number or diversity indices was observed between healthy and caries-active microbiota. However, co-presence network analysis of functional genes revealed that caries-active microbiota was more divergent in non-core genes than healthy microbiota, despite both groups exhibited a similar degree of conservation at their respective core genes. Furthermore, functional gene structure of saliva microbiota could potentially distinguish caries-active patients from healthy hosts. Microbial functions such as Diaminopimelate epimerase, Prephenate dehydrogenase, Pyruvate-formate lyase and N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase were significantly linked to caries. Therefore, saliva microbiota carried disease-associated functional signatures, which could be potentially exploited for caries diagnosis. The DMFT INDEX (Decayed, Missing, Filled [DMF] teeth index used in dental epidemiology) values are provided for each sample We employed a microbial functional gene microarray, HuMiChip 1.0, to reconstruct the global functional profiles of human saliva microbiota from ten healthy and ten caries-active adults.
Project description:Human saliva microbiota is phylogenetically divergent among host individuals yet their roles in health and disease are poorly appreciated. We employed a microbial functional gene microarray, HuMiChip 1.0, to reconstruct the global functional profiles of human saliva microbiota from ten healthy and ten caries-active adults. Saliva microbiota in the pilot population featured a vast diversity of functional genes. No significant distinction in gene number or diversity indices was observed between healthy and caries-active microbiota. However, co-presence network analysis of functional genes revealed that caries-active microbiota was more divergent in non-core genes than healthy microbiota, despite both groups exhibited a similar degree of conservation at their respective core genes. Furthermore, functional gene structure of saliva microbiota could potentially distinguish caries-active patients from healthy hosts. Microbial functions such as Diaminopimelate epimerase, Prephenate dehydrogenase, Pyruvate-formate lyase and N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase were significantly linked to caries. Therefore, saliva microbiota carried disease-associated functional signatures, which could be potentially exploited for caries diagnosis. The DMFT INDEX (Decayed, Missing, Filled [DMF] teeth index used in dental epidemiology) values are provided for each sample
Project description:The colon contains a dense metabolically potent microbiota. The colonic O-glycan-rich mucus has been recognized as a key barrier to prevent microbial intrusion, but how this system forms and functions remains unclear. Here, we discovered that the colon mucus is mainly forged by microbiota-dependent secretion of O-glycosylated Muc2 by goblet cells in the ascending colon, where it seamlessly encapsulates the fecal materials including the microbiota. Deletion of O-glycans in the ascending colon impaired the segregating function of the mucous coating, leading to altered structure and metabolic output of the microbiota, and transcriptional homeostasis of the entire host mucosa. These findings represent a paradigm change of the prevailing model of the colon mucus system and provides new insights into host and microbiota symbiosis.
Project description:We profiled transcriptome and accessible chromatin landscapes in intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) from mice reared in the presence or absence of microbiota. We show that regional differences in gene transcription along the intestinal tract were accompanied by major alterations in chromatin organization. Surprisingly, we discovered that microbiota modify host gene transcription in IECs without significantly impacting the accessible chromatin landscape. Instead, microbiota regulation of host gene transcription might be achieved by differential expression of specific TFs and enrichment of their binding sites in nucleosome depleted CRRs near target genes. Our results suggest that the chromatin landscape in IECs is pre-programmed by the host in a region-specific manner to permit responses to microbiota through binding of open CRRs by specific TFs. mRNA and accessible chromatin (DNase-seq) profiles from colonic and ileal IECs were compared between conventionally-raised (CR), germ-free (GF), and conventionalized (CV) C57BL/6 mice.
Project description:The colon contains a dense metabolically potent microbiota. The colonic O-glycan-rich mucus has been recognized as a key barrier to prevent microbial intrusion, but how this system forms and functions remains unclear. Here, we discovered that the colon mucus is mainly forged by microbiota-dependent secretion of O-glycosylated Muc2 by goblet cells in the ascending colon, where it seamlessly encapsulates the fecal materials including the microbiota. Deletion of O-glycans in the ascending colon impaired the segregating function of the mucous coating, leading to altered structure and metabolic output of the microbiota, and transcriptional homeostasis of the entire host mucosa. These findings represent a paradigm change of the prevailing model of the colon mucus system and provides new insights into host and microbiota symbiosis.
Project description:The mammalian gastrointestinal tract harbors a diverse microbiota residing in intimate contact with the host immune system. Though most associations are symbiotic or commensal, some resident bacteria (termed pathobionts) have the potential to induce disease in immunocompromised hosts. Type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) have recently emerged as a novel mechanism for forging microbial-host interactions during infection. We reveal here a unique protective role for the T6SS of Helicobacter hepaticus, a Gram-negative bacterium of the murine intestinal microbiota. The T6SS of H. hepaticus targets effector substrates to intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). Mutants in T6SSs display higher intracellular and cell-associated numbers upon incubation with IECs, and exhibit increased bacterial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract compared to wild-type bacteria. The T6SS accordingly directs an anti-inflammatory gene expression profile in IECs co-cultured with H. hepaticus. Remarkably, T6SS mutants induce an exacerbated pro-inflammatory response in an experimental model of colitis. CD4+ T cells isolated from T6SS mutant-colonized animals produce increased T-helper 17 (Th17) cytokines in response to IECs presenting H. hepaticus antigens. These data demonstrate that H. hepaticus intimately interacts with IECs and employs type VI secretion to establish a balanced host relationship by limiting microbial colonization and intestinal inflammation. We propose that altering host-bacterial equilibriums that lead to dysbiosis of the microbiota contributes to human disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.
Project description:The effect of oral microbiota on the intestinal microbiota has garnered growing attention as a mechanism linking periodontal diseases to systemic diseases. However, the salivary microbiota is diverse and comprises numerous bacteria with a largely similar composition in healthy individuals and periodontitis patients. Thus, the systemic effects of small differences in the oral microbiota are unclear. In this study, we explored how health-associated and periodontitis-associated salivary microbiota differently colonized the intestine and their subsequent systemic effects by analyzing the hepatic gene expression and serum metabolomic profiles. The salivary microbiota was collected from a healthy individual and a periodontitis patient and gavaged into C57BL/6NJcl[GF] mice. Samples were collected five weeks after administration. Gut microbial communities were analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Hepatic gene expression profiles were analyzed using a DNA microarray and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Serum metabolites were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The gut microbial composition at the genus level was significantly different between periodontitis-associated microbiota-administered (PAO) and health-associated oral microbiota-administered (HAO) mice. The hepatic gene expression profile demonstrated a distinct pattern between the two groups, with higher expression of Neat1, Mt1, Mt2, and Spindlin1, which are involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. Disease-associated metabolites such as 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid and hydroxybenzoic acid were elevated in PAO mice. These metabolites were significantly correlated with Bifidobacterium, Atomobium, Campylobacter, and Haemophilus, which are characteristic taxa in PAO mice. Conversely, health-associated oral microbiota were associated with higher levels of beneficial serum metabolites in HAO mice. The multi-omics approach used in this study revealed that periodontitis-associated oral microbiota is associated with the induction of disease phenotype when they colonized the gut of germ-free mice.