Event Abstract Back to Event Multi-omics approach reveals that bifidobacteria protect from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection through production of acetate Ohno Hiroshi1* 1 Riken Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Japan Fukuda S, Toh H, Hase K, Oshima K, Nakanishi Y, Yoshimura K, Tobe T, Clarke JM, Topping DL, Suzuki T, Taylor TD, Itoh K, Kikuchi J, Morita H, Hattori M, Ohno H* RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology ohno@rcai.riken.jp The human gut is colonized with a wide variety of microorganisms, including some species, such as those belonging to the bacterial genus Bifidobacterium, that have potentially beneficial effects on human physiology and pathology. Among the possible benefits of bifidobacteria are a modulation of host defense responses and protection against infectious diseases. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying these beneficial effects have barely been elucidated. To investigate these mechanisms, we used a simplified model of lethal infection with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (O157) of germfree mice associated with certain bifidobacterial strains, together with an integrated ‘multi-omics’ approach. We show that genes encoding a sugar transporter present in certain bifidobacteria contribute to protecting mice against death induced by O157. We found that this effect can be attributed, at least in part, to increased production of acetate, and that translocation of the O157 Shiga toxin from the gut lumen into the blood was inhibited via upregulation by acetate of intestinal epithelial barrier function. We propose that acetate produced by protective bifidobacteria improves intestinal defense mediated by epithelial cells and thereby protects the host against lethal infection. This study also demonstrated that simplified animal model system coupled with multi-omics technologies can provide a powerful strategy for dissecting host–microbe crosstalk in the complex gut ecosystem. (Nature 469: 543-547, 2011) Keywords: acetate production, bifidobacteria, O157 shiga Toxin Conference: ECMIS - E. coli and the Mucosal Immune System : Interaction, Modulation and Vaccination, Ghent, Belgium, 2 Jul - 5 Jul, 2011. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation Topic: Virulence factors and influence on innate and/or adaptive immunity Citation: Hiroshi O (2012). Multi-omics approach reveals that bifidobacteria protect from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection through production of acetate. Front. Immunol. Conference Abstract: ECMIS - E. coli and the Mucosal Immune System : Interaction, Modulation and Vaccination. doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2012.01.00004 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 10 Oct 2011; Published Online: 09 Jan 2012. * Correspondence: Prof. Ohno Hiroshi, Riken Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Yokohama, Japan, ohno@rcai.riken.jp Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Ohno Hiroshi Google Ohno Hiroshi Google Scholar Ohno Hiroshi PubMed Ohno Hiroshi Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.