Publications by authors named "Haizhuang Cai"
Nitrate supplementation affects taste by changing the oral metabolome and microbiome.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes
May 2025
Nitrate, an inorganic anion found in various foods is also present in saliva and has emerged as a potential prebiotic for the oral microbiome. Salivary glands concentrate nitrate from the bloodstream and release it into the oral cavity via the anion transporter sialin SLC17A5. In previous studies dietary nitrate supplementation altered oral bacteria composition, favouring genera like Rothia and Neisseria while reducing Streptococcus, Veillonella, Prevotella, and Actinomyces.
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- The study investigates how the gut and oral microbiomes are affected in patients with varying severities of cirrhosis, focusing on the presence of harmful bacteria and resistance genes.
- It involves analysis of samples from multiple groups: healthy controls, stable cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, acute-on-chronic liver failure patients, and those with severe infections but no cirrhosis.
- Results show increased overlap of oral and gut microbiomes and greater amounts of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes as cirrhosis severity increases, suggesting a shift towards more harmful bacteria and a loss of beneficial ones.
Transient colonizing microbes promote gut dysbiosis and functional impairment.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes
September 2024
Species composition of the healthy adult gut microbiota tends to be stable over time. Destabilization of the gut microbiome under the influence of different factors is the main driver of the microbial dysbiosis and subsequent impacts on host physiology. Here, we used metagenomics data from a Swedish longitudinal cohort, to determine the stability of the gut microbiome and uncovered two distinct microbial species groups; persistent colonizing species (PCS) and transient colonizing species (TCS).
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