Project description:The mammalian gastrointestinal tract harbors thousands of bacterial species that include symbionts as well as potential pathogens. The immune responses that limit access of these bacteria to underlying tissue remain poorly defined. In this study, we used microarrays to uncover the transcriptional responses that occur in small intestinal γδ intraepithelial lymphocytes following bacterial challenge.
Project description:Antibiotic resistance genes expressed in the upper respiratory tract of patients infected with influenza viruses were associated with the microbial community and microbial activities. Interactions between the host systemic responses to influenza infection and ARG expression highlight the importance of antibiotic resistance in viral-bacterial co-infection.
Project description:Antibiotic resistance genes expressed in the upper respiratory tract of patients infected with influenza viruses were associated with the microbial community and microbial activities. Interactions between the host systemic responses to influenza infection and ARG expression highlight the importance of antibiotic resistance in viral-bacterial co-infection.
Project description:Antibiotic resistance genes expressed in the upper respiratory tract of patients infected with influenza viruses were associated with the microbial community and microbial activities. Interactions between the host systemic responses to influenza infection and ARG expression highlight the importance of antibiotic resistance in viral-bacterial co-infection.
Project description:Inflammatory bowel diseases encompass gastrointestinal illnesseses typified by chronic inflammation, loss of epithelial integrity and gastrointestinal microbiota dysbiosis. In an effort to counteract these characteristic perturbations, we used stem cells and/or a probiotic preparation in a murine model of Dextran Sodium Sulfate induced colitis to examine both their efficacy in ameliorating disease and impact on niche-specific microbial communities of the lower GI tract. Colitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice by administering 3% DSS in drinking water for 10 days prior to administering one of three treatment plans: daily probiotic (VSL#3) supplementation for 3 days, a single tail vein injection of 1x106 murine mesenchymal stem cells, or both. Controls included DSS-untreated mice and DSS-treated mice that received no therapy. Ileal, cecal and colonic sections were collected for microbiota and histological analyses. Microbiota profiling revealed distinct bacterial community compositions in the ileum, cecum and colon of control untreated animals, all of which were predicted in silico to be enriched for a number of discrete KEGG pathways, indicating compositional and functional niche specificity in healthy animals. DSS- treatment perturbed community composition in all three niches with ileal communities exhibiting the greatest change relative to control animals. Stem cell, VSL#3 and the combination treated animals exhibited treatment-specific microbiota composition in the lower GI tract, though disease scores were only improved in VSL#3 treated animals. This VSL#3-associated shift in the ileal microbiota was characterized by significant Enterobacteriaceae enrichment compared to colitic animals (p<0.05),
