Articles of Significant Interest in This Issue

Abstract

The human gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron secretes nanosized vesicles in vitro. Stentz et al. (e00533-22) show that the vesicles are also produced in vivo in the mouse cecum. Furthermore, in vivo conditions enriched for proteins and enzymes in the vesicles that modulate the host cell biosynthetic pathways and degrade bile acids. These results suggest that the host environment influences the composition of bacterial vesicles and, in turn, the functions that are critical to maintaining gut homeostasis and health.