Body Microbiota Research Articles

INDICATORS OF THE QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITION OF THE GUT COMMENSAL MICROBIOTA AS BIOMARKERS OF HOMEOSTASIS (Part 1)

In recent years, practical medicine has faced a surge of information highlighting the emergence of new microbes in the human body's microbiota, leading to challenges in interpreting laboratory test results. This study aims to equip medical professionals, including doctors of various specialties, medical students, and interns, with a comprehensive understanding of the current knowledge on the human gastrointestinal microbial profile. Our analysis included 53 articles from international literature sources indexed in PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. These articles were identified through an electronic search. The composition of the human microbiome is shaped by alterations in environmental conditions, living environments, diet, climate, genetics, and various other factors. Following birth, the pivotal role in microbiome formation involves the vertical, horizontal, and mixed transfer of microorganisms. Navigating the diversity of resident microbiota can be challenging, leading scientists to suggest biomarkers such as diversity indices, enterotypes, and established ratios at typical taxonomic levels (genus, species) for convenience. In clinical practice, these indicators serve as indirect markers of microflora properties that model health or disease. To understand the distribution of species within types, ecologists introduced concepts like α-, β-, and γ-diversity, grounded in different mathematical models. These indicators are also employed to assess the human body microbiota. The division into enterotypes was proposed by scientists on the basis that the phylogenetic (species) composition of each category determines its own functional feature, which is likely to be related to long-term eating habits. Conclusion. Scientists endeavor to assess the intricate microbiome system and its substantial impact on the human body, as well as the adverse effects of dysbiosis, employing mathematical models applied in microbiology.

Cistanche deserticola improves postmenopausal osteoporosis through gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids

The decrease of bone mineral density, osteopenia, and changes in bone tissue structure in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) are related to the disturbance of the body's microbiota, but the specific mechanism is still unclear. Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma. (Orobanchaceae, CD) is a medicinal and dietary herb widely used in China, and studies have been conducted to prove its effectiveness in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. This study aims to investigate the potential mechanism of cell-broken decoction pieces of Cistanche deserticola (CDC) in regulating gut microbiota and gut microbial metabolites to improve postmenopausal osteoporosis. The results show that CDC improved gut microbiota disorders, and promoted the production of beneficial bacteria of Firmicutes, Roseburia, and Oscillibacter that mainly produce SCFAs, and increased intestinal barrier function, thus protecting OVX mice from bone loss, which provides a reference for the clinical application of CDC in the prevention and treatment of PMO.

Role of microbiome in the pathophysiology and disease course of asthma.

The emergence of next-generation 16S rRNA sequencing techniques has facilitated a more detailed study of the body's microbiota and led to renewed interest in the association between microbial exposure and asthma inception. In this review, we evaluate the evidence that the respiratory tract and intestinal microbiota contribute to asthma pathogenesis and progression. Human studies have revealed associations between the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria in the respiratory tract in early life and subsequent risk of allergic sensitization and asthma. Similarly, alterations in the intestinal microbiota of neonates have also been shown to precede the development of asthma. Emerging evidence suggests that the lung microbiota is dysregulated in asthma with specific changes in bacterial diversity and community composition according to severity and phenotype. Studies using germ-free mice have been invaluable in moving our understanding from correlation to causation by demonstrating a mechanistic link between the neonatal microbiota and the development of allergic airway inflammation. An expanding body of literature supports the hypothesis that early life microbial exposures and bacterial communities within the lung and/or intestine play an important role in shaping early immunological development. Perturbations in the microbiota may promote immune defects associated with the development of asthma and allergic sensitization.