Methylomic Signature and Epigenetic Damage Modulation of Bronte Pistachio ( L.) Hydrophilic Extract in Differentiated CaCo-2 Cells.

: Nutrigenomics explores how dietary components influence genome function, especially via epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation. A key challenge is identifying healthy food-derived molecules capable of counteracting epigenetic damage from harmful dietary elements. Pistachio nuts ( L.

Compositional and Functional Disparities in the Breast Oncobiome Between Patients Living in Urban or Rural Areas.

: Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality among women and the recent identification of a resident mammary microbiota has highlighted its potential role in breast carcinogenesis. Given that environmental and socioeconomic factors influence both BC prevalence and tumor-associated bacterial composition, this study aimed to evaluate the compositional and functional features of the mammary microbiota in cancerous (oncobiome) and adjacent healthy BC tissues from patients living in urban and rural areas. : Microbiota composition in both the oncobiome and adjacent healthy BC tissues was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing.

Testing the limits of short-reads metagenomic classifications programs in wastewater treating microbial communities.

Biological wastewater treatment processes, such as activated sludge (AS) and aerobic granular sludge (AGS), have proven to be crucial systems for achieving both efficient waste purification and the recovery of valuable resources like poly-hydroxy-alkanoates. Gaining a deeper understanding of the microbial communities underpinning these technologies would enable their optimization, ultimately reducing costs and increasing efficiency. To support this research, we quantitatively compared classification methods differing in read length (raw reads, contigs and MAGs), overall search approach (Kaiju, Kraken2, RiboFrame and kMetaShot), as well as source databases to assess the classification performances at both the genus and species levels using an in silico-generated mock community designed to provide a simplified yet comprehensive representation of the complex microbial ecosystems found in AS and AGS.

Experimental tests challenge the evidence of a healthy human blood microbiome.

The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies has made it possible to investigate microbial communities in various environments, including different sites within the human body. Therefore, the previously established belief of the sterile nature of several body sites, including human blood, has now been challenged. However, metagenomics investigation of areas with an anticipated low microbial biomass may be susceptible to misinterpretation.

Gut microbiota in very early systemic sclerosis: the first case-control taxonomic and functional characterisation highlighting an altered butyric acid profile.

Objectives: In systemic sclerosis (SSc), gastrointestinal involvement is one of the earliest events. We compared the gut microbiota (GM), its short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and host-derived free fatty acids (FFAs) in patients with very early diagnosis of SSc (VEDOSS) and definite SSc.

Methods: Stool samples of 26 patients with SSc, 18 patients with VEDOSS and 20 healthy controls (HC) were collected.

Host genetics and gut microbiota influence lipid metabolism and inflammation: potential implications for ALS pathophysiology in SOD1 mice.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive loss of motor neurons, with genetic and environmental factors contributing to its complex pathogenesis. Dysregulated immune responses and altered energetic metabolism are key features, with emerging evidence implicating the gut microbiota (GM) in disease progression. We investigated the interplay among genetic background, GM composition, metabolism, and immune response in two distinct ALS mouse models: 129Sv_G93A and C57Ola_G93A, representing rapid and slow disease progression, respectively.

Verifying the feasibility of wastewater-based epidemiological monitoring for the small catchment and sewage networks with significant pretreatment.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a valuable tool for COVID-19 monitoring, especially as the frequency of clinical testing diminishes. Beyond COronaVIrus Disease 19 (COVID-19), the tool's versatility extends to addressing various public health concerns, including antibiotic resistance and drug consumption. However, the complexity of sewage systems introduces noise when measuring chemical tracer concentrations, potentially compromising their applicability for modeling.

Evaluation of different molecular systems for detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater samples.

Wastewater-based epidemiology has proved to be a suitable approach for tracking the spread of epidemic agents including SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Different protocols have been developed for quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater samples, but little is known on their performance. In this study we compared three protocols based on Reverse Transcription Real Time-PCR (RT-PCR) and one based on Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection from 35 wastewater samples.

Experimental colitis in young Tg2576 mice accelerates the onset of an Alzheimer's-like clinical phenotype.

Systemic inflammation and neuroinflammation affect the natural course of the sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as supported by epidemiological and preclinical data, and several epidemiological studies indicate a higher prevalence of AD in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. In this study, we explored whether colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in young, presymptomatic/preplaque mice worsens and/or anticipates age-dependent cognitive impairment in Tg2576, a widely used mouse model of AD. We demonstrated that DSS colitis induced in young Tg2576 mice anticipates the onset age of learning and memory deficit in the Morris water maze test.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stratification: unveiling patterns with virome, inflammation, and metabolism molecules.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an untreatable and clinically heterogeneous condition primarily affecting motor neurons. The ongoing quest for reliable biomarkers that mirror the disease status and progression has led to investigations that extend beyond motor neurons' pathology, encompassing broader systemic factors such as metabolism, immunity, and the microbiome. Our study contributes to this effort by examining the potential role of microbiome-related components, including viral elements, such as torque tenovirus (TTV), and various inflammatory factors, in ALS.

Oral microbiota signatures associated with viremia and CD4 recovery in treatment-naïve HIV-1-infected patients.

Purpose: Few reports focused on the role of oral microbiome diversity in HIV infection. We characterized the microbiota-immunity axis in a cohort of treatment-naïve HIV-1-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) focusing on the oral microbiome (OM) and immunological responsivity.

Methods: The sequencing of 16S rRNA V3-V4 hypervariable region was performed on salivary samples of 15 healthy control (HC) and 12 HIV + patients before starting ART and after reaching virological suppression.

Alterations of circulating free fatty acids in patients with pemphigus vulgaris.

Free fatty acids (FFA) have gained research interest owing to their functions in both local and systemic immune regulation. Changes in the serum levels of anti-inflammatory short chain fatty acids (SCFA), primarily derived from the gut microbiota, and pro-inflammatory medium (MCFA) and long (LCFA) chain fatty acids, derived from either the gut microbiota or the diet, have been associated with autoimmunity. Circulating FFA were retrospectively analysed by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method in the serum of 18 patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) at the baseline and 6 months (n = 10) after immunosuppressive treatments, and 18 healthy controls (HC).

Differential Expression Analysis Utilizing Condition-Specific Metabolic Pathways.

Pathway analysis is ubiquitous in biological data analysis due to the ability to integrate small simultaneous changes in functionally related components. While pathways are often defined based on either manual curation or network topological properties, an attractive alternative is to generate pathways around specific functions, in which metabolism can be defined as the production and consumption of specific metabolites. In this work, we present an algorithm, termed MetPath, that calculates pathways for condition-specific production and consumption of specific metabolites.

Targeting of tumor cells by custom antigen transfer: a novel approach for immunotherapy of cancer.

In the early stages of carcinogenesis, the transformed cells become "invisible" to the immune system. From this moment on, the evolution of the tumor depends essentially on the genotype of the primitive cancer cells and their subsequent genetic drift. The role of the immune system in blocking tumor progression from the earliest stages is largely underestimated because by the time tumors are clinically detectable, the immune system has already completely failed its task.

Intratumour microbiota modulates adrenocortical cancer responsiveness to mitotane.

The infiltrating microbiota represents a novel cellular component of the solid tumour microenvironment that can influence tumour progression and response to therapy. Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive endocrine malignancy for which mitotane (MTT) treatment represents the first-line therapy, though its efficacy is limited to a therapeutic window level (14-20 mg/L). Novel markers able to predict those patients who would benefit from MTT therapy are urgently needed to improve patient's management.

Immune landscape and oncobiota in HPV-Associated Colorectal Cancer: an explorative study.

Worldwide more than 550,000 new patients suffering from malignant tumors are associated with human papillomaviruses (HPV) infection. However, only a small portion of patients infected progress to cancer, suggesting that other factors other than HPV may play a role. Some studies have investigated HPV infection in colorectal cancer (CRC) with discordant results; moreover, the role of HPV in CRC development is still unknown.

Breast cancer: the first comparative evaluation of oncobiome composition between males and females.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that breast microbiota dysbiosis contributes to cancer initiation, progression, prognosis and treatment efficacy. Anyway, available data are referred only to female patients, and studies on males are completely missing. Male breast cancer (MBC) is 70-100 times less frequent, but the mortality rate adjusted to incidence is higher in men than in females.

Corrigendum: Characterization of the "gut microbiota-immunity axis" and microbial lipid metabolites in atrophic and potential celiac disease.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.

The differential crosstalk of the skin-gut microbiome axis as a new emerging actor in systemic sclerosis.

Objectives: We characterized the microbiota in SSc, focusing on the skin-oral-gut axis and the serum and faecal free fatty acid (FFA) profile.

Methods: Twenty-five SSc patients with ACA or anti-Scl70 autoantibodies were enrolled. The microbiota of faecal, saliva and superficial epidermal samples was assessed through next-generation sequencing analysis.

Effects of the probiotic IMC 510® on body composition, biochemical parameters, gut microbiota composition and function, and clinical symptoms of overweight/obese subjects.

Background And Aim: In recent decades, obesity prevalence has reached epidemic proportions and considering the pivotal role of gut microbiota (GM) in the regulation of energy balance, alternative non-pharmacological approaches involving probiotics' administration have been proposed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of IMC 510® supplementation on anthropometric and biochemical parameters, GM composition and functionality, and gastrointestinal and general symptoms of overweight/obese subjects.

Methods: Forty overweight/obese subjects were randomly assigned to daily consume the probiotic IMC 510® or placebo for 3 months.