Project description:Pancreatic cancer is the 3rd most prevalent cause of cancer related deaths in United states alone, with over 55000 patients being diagnosed in 2019 alone and nearly as many succumbing to it. Late detection, lack of effective therapy and poor understanding of pancreatic cancer systemically contributes to its poor survival statistics. Obesity and high caloric intake linked co-morbidities like type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been attributed as being risk factors for a number of cancers including pancreatic cancer. Studies on gut microbiome has shown that lifestyle factors as well as diet has a huge effect on the microbial flora of the gut. Further, modulation of gut microbiome has been seen to contribute to effects of intensive insulin therapy in mice on high fat diet. In another study, abnormal gut microbiota was reported to contribute to development of diabetes in Db/Db mice. Recent studies indicate that microbiome and microbial dysbiosis plays a role in not only the onset of disease but also in its outcome. In colorectal cancer, Fusobacterium has been reported to promote therapy resistance. Certain intra-tumoral bacteria have also been shown to elicit chemo-resistance by metabolizing anti-cancerous agents. In pancreatic cancer, studies on altered gut microbiome have been relatively recent. Microbial dysbiosis has been observed to be associated with pancreatic tumor progression. Modulation of microbiome has been shown to affect response to anti-PD1 therapy in this disease as well. However, most of the studies in pancreatic cancer and microbiome have remained focused om immune modulation. In the current study, we observed that in a T2D mouse model, the microbiome changed significantly as the hyperglycemia developed in these animals. Our results further showed that, tumors implanted in the T2D mice responded poorly to Gemcitabine/Paclitaxel (Gem/Pac) standard of care compared to those in the control group. A metabolomic reconstruction of the WGS of the gut microbiota further revealed that an enrichment of bacterial population involved in drug metabolism in the T2D group.
Project description:More than one-half of all colorectal cancer cases and deaths are due to modifiable risk factors, while psychological stress stands out as an important factor with mechanism unclear. Polymorphic microbiomes have pivotal roles in CRC. We therefore explored the impact of chronic stress on CRC, and the involvement of gut microbiome and its metabolites in this process.
Project description:We report the association between CpG islander methylator phenotype (CIMP) and the gut microbiome in human colorectal cancer tumor and adjacent normal tissue.
Project description:We report the association between CpG islander methylator phenotype (CIMP) and the gut microbiome in human colorectal cancer tumor and adjacent normal tissue.
Project description:Cognitive impairment (CI) is a prevalent neurological condition characterized deficient attention, causal reasoning, learning and/or memory. Many genetic and environmental factors increase risk for CI, and the gut microbiome is increasingly implicated. However, the identity of gut microbes associated with CI risk, their effects on CI, and their mechanisms of action remain unclear. Here we examine the gut microbiome in response to restricted diet and intermittent hypoxia, known environmental risk factors for CI. Modeling the environmental factors together in mice potentiates CI and alters the gut microbiota. Depleting the microbiome by antibiotic treatment or germ-free rearing prevents the adverse effects of environmental risk on CI, whereas transplantation of the risk-associated microbiome into naïve mice confers CI. Parallel sequencing and gnotobiotic approaches identify the pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia as enriched by the environmental risk factors for CI and as sufficient to induce CI. Consistent with CI-related behavioral abnormalities, B. wadsworthia and the risk-associated microbiome disrupt hippocampal activity, neurogenesis and gene expression. The CI induced by B. wadsworthia and by environmental risk factors is associated with microbiome-dependent increases in intestinal IFNy-producing Th1 cells. Inhibiting Th1 cells abrogates the adverse effects of both B. wadsworthia and environmental risk factors on CI. Together, these findings identify select gut bacteria that contribute to environmental risk for CI in mice by promoting inflammation and hippocampal dysfunction.
Project description:Kynureninase is a member of a large family of catalytically diverse but structurally homologous pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzymes known as the aspartate aminotransferase superfamily or alpha-family. The Homo sapiens and other eukaryotic constitutive kynureninases preferentially catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate and l-alanine, while l-kynurenine is the substrate of many prokaryotic inducible kynureninases. The human enzyme was cloned with an N-terminal hexahistidine tag, expressed, and purified from a bacterial expression system using Ni metal ion affinity chromatography. Kinetic characterization of the recombinant enzyme reveals classic Michaelis-Menten behavior, with a Km of 28.3 +/- 1.9 microM and a specific activity of 1.75 micromol min-1 mg-1 for 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine. Crystals of recombinant kynureninase that diffracted to 2.0 A were obtained, and the atomic structure of the PLP-bound holoenzyme was determined by molecular replacement using the Pseudomonas fluorescens kynureninase structure (PDB entry 1qz9) as the phasing model. A structural superposition with the P. fluorescens kynureninase revealed that these two structures resemble the "open" and "closed" conformations of aspartate aminotransferase. The comparison illustrates the dynamic nature of these proteins' small domains and reveals a role for Arg-434 similar to its role in other AAT alpha-family members. Docking of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine into the human kynureninase active site suggests that Asn-333 and His-102 are involved in substrate binding and molecular discrimination between inducible and constitutive kynureninase substrates.
Project description:Opioid analgesics are frequently prescribed in the United States and worldwide. However, serious side effects such as addiction, immunosuppression and gastrointestinal symptoms limit long term use. In the current study using a chronic morphine-murine model a longitudinal approach was undertaken to investigate the role of morphine modulation of gut microbiome as a mechanism contributing to the negative consequences associated with opioids use. The results revealed a significant shift in the gut microbiome and metabolome within 24 hours following morphine treatment when compared to placebo. Morphine induced gut microbial dysbiosis exhibited distinct characteristic signatures profiles including significant increase in communities associated with pathogenic function, decrease in communities associated with stress tolerance. Collectively, these results reveal opioids-induced distinct alteration of gut microbiome, may contribute to opioids-induced pathogenesis. Therapeutics directed at these targets may prolong the efficacy long term opioid use with fewer side effects.