Restoration of the gut-microbiota-liver axis after hepatitis C virus eradication.

Background & Aims: We previously reported altered intestinal environmental features during HCV infection. Here, we aimed to characterize the gut-microbiota-liver axis in patients with chronic hepatitis C after a sustained virological response (SVR).

Methods: A total of 174 patients with HCV infection were enrolled in a cross-sectional study: 95 with chronic hepatitis (CH-HCV group) and 79 with cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (LC/HCC-HCV group).

Direct percutaneous embolization of ileal conduit stomal varices with gelatin sponge particles and ethanolamine oleate iopamidol mixture.

The present case report concerns an 80-year-old obese woman with liver cirrhosis who presented with acute ileal conduit stomal hemorrhage. Due to the inherent challenges associated with ultrasound visualization of the portal vein in obese patients, a direct percutaneous approach was employed over the conventional transhepatic route. The feeding ileal vein was directly punctured under ultrasound guidance.

Synbiotic-driven modulation of the gut microbiota and metabolic functions related to obesity: insights from a human gastrointestinal model.

Synbiotic interventions have gained increasing attention for modulating gut microbiota and metabolic functions in obesity-related disorders. This study evaluated the effects of Limosilactobacillus reuteri KUB-AC5 (10⁸ CFU) and Wolffia globosa powder (6 g/day) using an in vitro continuous human gastrointestinal model. Fecal samples from obese donors were used to simulate the ascending and descending colon, with microbial viability, diversity, and metabolite production assessed over 14 days via culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

Genomic Insights into Probiotic T-21, a Wild Plant-Associated Lactic Acid Bacterium, and Its Preliminary Clinical Safety for Human Application.

T-21 is a lactic acid bacterium isolated from wild cranberries in Japan that demonstrates significant immunomodulatory properties and has been incorporated into commercial health products. However, probiogenomic analyses specific to T-21 have remained largely unexplored. This study performed a thorough genomic characterisation of T-21 and evaluated its safety in initial clinical trials.

Impact of container type on the microbiome of airag, a Mongolian fermented mare's milk.

Airag, a fermented mare's milk in Mongolia, exhibits diverse flavors and microbiota due to distinct production processes and environments in nomadic households. Recently, there has been a shift from the traditional cow skin container, 'khokhuur', to a plastic container for airag production, potentially impacting the microbiota and quality. To address this notion, we aimed to elucidate the differences in the microbiota between airag samples from a plastic container and those from a khokhuur.

Molecular mechanisms of complex-type N-glycan breakdown and metabolism by the human intestinal bacterium Barnesiella intestinihominis.

Intestinal bacteria play a crucial role in human health, for example, by maintaining immune and metabolic homeostasis and protecting against pathogens. Survival in the human intestine depends on the bacterium's ability to utilize complex carbohydrates. Some species are known to use host-derived glycans; for example, Bifidobacteria can utilize O-glycan of mucin.

Impact of vegetables on the microbiota of the rice bran pickling bed Nukadoko.

Nukadoko, a fermented rice bran bed for pickling vegetables called nukazuke, has a complex microbiota. Within it, deep interactions between the microbiota of the pickled vegetables and nukadoko characterize and control the qualities of both products. To address this notion, we monitored the changes in the microbiota of nukadoko and nukazuke while pickling different vegetables.

Probiotic Chocolate Containing Dad-13 Alters the Gut Microbiota Composition of Undernourished Children in Lombok: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial.

The present study investigated the ingestion effect of chocolate probiotic containing Dad-13 in undernourished children. A 100-day observation was conducted on undernourished children in Lombok, who were divided into probiotic ( = 28) and placebo ( = 28) groups. Fecal sampling was performed on the 10 and 100 days and further analyzed for gut microbiota composition, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), and fecal pH.

Gut microbiome signatures associated with type 2 diabetes in obesity in Mongolia.

Mongolian people possess a unique dietary habit characterized by high consumption of meat and dairy products and fewer vegetables, resulting in the highest obesity rate in East Asia. Although obesity is a known cause of type 2 diabetes (T2D), the T2D rate is moderate in this population; this is known as the "Mongolian paradox." Since the gut microbiota plays a key role in energy and metabolic homeostasis as an interface between food and body, we investigated gut microbial factors involved in the prevention of the co-occurrence of T2D with obesity in Mongolians.

Lower Dose of 5 mL of 1% Lidocaine is More Suitable than the Conventional 10 mL for Caudal Block in Transrectal Prostate Biopsy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: In Japan, caudal block with 1% lidocaine is commonly used for transrectal prostate biopsy. Although 10 mL of 1% lidocaine is commonly used, the appropriate dosage of 1% lidocaine has not been studied. Our hospital routinely uses two different doses (5 or 10 mL) of 1% lidocaine for caudal block for transrectal prostate biopsy.

Interception of Epoxide ring to quorum sensing system in Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus.

Quorum sensing inhibitor (QSI) has been attracting attention as anti-virulence agent which disarms pathogens of their virulence rather than killing them. QSI marking cyclic peptide-mediated QS in Gram-positive bacteria is an effective tool to overcome the crisis of antibiotic-dependent chemotherapy due to the emergence of drug resistance strain, e.g.

Cyclic pairwise interaction representing a rock-paper-scissors game maintains the population of the vulnerable yeast within a multispecies sourdough microbiome.

Traditionally, multispecies consisting of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts collaboratively engage sourdough fermentation, which determines the quality of the resulting baked goods. Nonetheless, the successive transfer of these microbial communities can result in undesirable community dynamics that prevent the formation of high-quality sourdough bread. Thus, a mechanistic understanding of the community dynamics is fundamental to engineer sourdough complex fermentation.

Longitudinal gut mycobiota changes in Japanese infants during first three years of life.

Although fungi can have a large impact on host health through the stimulation of the immune system and toxin production, few studies have investigated the gut mycobiota during infancy, a period during which sensitivity to internal and external stimuli is high. To capture the trend in fungal colonization during infancy, we evaluated the gut mycobiota of ten Japanese infants during the first 3 years of life. Infants had two major phyla, Ascomycota (68.

Crisis of the Asian gut: associations among diet, microbiota, and metabolic diseases.

The increase of lifestyle-related diseases in Asia has recently become remarkably serious. This has been associated with a change in dietary habits that may alter the complex gut microbiota and its metabolic function in Asian people. Notably, the penetration of modern Western diets into Asia, which has been accompanied by an increase in fat content and decrease in plant-derived dietary fiber, is restructuring the Asian gut microbiome.

Glucosylceramide Changes Bacterial Metabolism and Increases Gram-Positive Bacteria through Tolerance to Secondary Bile Acids In Vitro.

Glucosylceramide is present in many foods, such as crops and fermented foods. Most glucosylceramides are not degraded or absorbed in the small intestine and pass through the large intestine. Glucosylceramide exerts versatile effects on colon tumorigenesis, skin moisture, cholesterol metabolism and improvement of intestinal microbes in vivo.

Assessment of bone health in patients with prostate cancer using cancer staging computed tomography.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of vertebral Hounsfield unit (HU) values from computed tomography (CT) in cancer staging as a supplementary screening tool for bone health among prostate cancer (PCa) patients.

Methods: T-scores of bone mineral density (BMD) in each lumbar vertebra (L1-L4) and hip for newly diagnosed PCa patients (N = 139) were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The degenerative changes in each lumbar vertebra were assessed, and the HU values of trabecular bone in axial CT images of each vertebral body (vertebral CT-HU value) were measured using staging CT.

Secondary Metabolites of Actinomycetales as Potent Quorum Sensing Inhibitors Targeting Gram-Positive Pathogens: In Vitro and In Silico Study.

Anti-virulence agents are non-bacteriostatic and non-bactericidal emerging therapeutic options which hamper the production of virulence factors in pathogenic flora. In and , regulation of virulence genes' expression occurs through the cyclic peptide-mediated accessory gene regulator () and its ortholog quorum sensing systems, respectively. In the present study, we screened a set of 54 actinomycetales secondary metabolites as novel anti-virulence compounds targeting quorum sensing system of the Gram-positive bacteria.

Characterization and Demonstration of Mock Communities as Control Reagents for Accurate Human Microbiome Community Measurements.

Standardization and quality assurance of microbiome community analysis by high-throughput DNA sequencing require widely accessible and well-characterized reference materials. Here, we report on newly developed DNA and whole-cell mock communities to serve as control reagents for human gut microbiota measurements by shotgun metagenomics and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The mock communities were formulated as near-even blends of up to 20 bacterial species prevalent in the human gut, span a wide range of genomic guanine-cytosine (GC) contents, and include multiple strains with Gram-positive type cell walls.

Gut microbiome status of urban and rural Filipino adults in relation to diet and metabolic disorders.

Here, we aim to understand the condition of the gut microbiome of Filipino adults in relation to their diet and metabolic status. Compared to rural Albay (n = 67), the gut microbiome of subjects living in urban Manila (n = 25) was more colonized by the order Clostridiales, which was negatively correlated with host carbohydrate consumption. Principal component analysis using the genus composition of the 92 total subjects indicated four microbiome types: one type driven by Prevotella, which was associated with high rice consumption and mainly consisted of healthy Albay subjects, one Clostridiales-driven group containing a number of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) subjects from both Manila and Albay who showed lower butyrate levels in association with a decrease in Mediterraneibacter faecis, and the other two types showing dysbiosis-like microbiomes with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium overgrowth, with a high ratio of T2D and obese subjects.

Characterization of the Biosynthetic Gene Cluster of Enterocin F4-9, a Glycosylated Bacteriocin.

Enterocin F4-9 belongs to the glycocin family having post-translational modifications by two molecules of -acetylglucosamine β--linked to Ser37 and Thr46. In this study, the biosynthetic gene cluster of enterocin F4-9 was cloned and expressed in JH2-2. Production of glycocin by the JH2-2 expression strain was confirmed by expression of the five genes.

Molecular characterization of the possible regulation of multiple bacteriocin production through a three-component regulatory system in Enterococcus faecium NKR-5-3.

Enterococcus faecium NKR-5-3 produces multiple-bacteriocins, enterocins NKR-5-3A, B, C, D, and Z (Ent53A, Ent53B, Ent53C, Ent53D, and Ent53Z). However, the biosynthetic mechanisms on how their productions are regulated are yet to be fully understood. In silico analysis revealed putative promoters and terminators in the enterocin NKR-5-3ACDZ gene cluster, and the putative direct repeats (5'-ATTTTAGGATA-3') were conserved upstream of each promoter.

Mechanistic Insight into Yeast Bloom in a Lactic Acid Bacteria Relaying-Community in the Start of Sourdough Microbiota Evolution.

The spontaneous microbiota of wheat sourdough, often comprising one yeast species and several lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species, evolves over repeated fermentation cycles, which bakers call backslopping. The final product quality largely depends on the microbiota functions, but these fluctuate sometimes during the initial months of fermentation cycles due to microbiota evolution in which three phases of LAB relay occur. In this study, the understanding of yeast-LAB interactions in the start of the evolution of the microbiota was deepened by exploring the timing and trigger interactions when sourdough yeast entered a preestablished LAB-relaying community.