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Molecular Advances in Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2024 | Viewed by 2918

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Life Technologies, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland Valais-Wallis, 1950 Sion, Switzerland
Interests: intestinal disease; bioactive molecules; gut health; homeostasis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human intestinal microbiomes have an insurmountable effect on our health status by influencing a wide range of diseases, including cancer, obesity, allergies, and neurological disorders. Food and pharmaceutics industries have been assiduous in providing foods and supplements in order to improve or maintain health and establish a gut microbiota that is regarded as beneficial. Probiotics and prebiotics, postbiotics, and other bioactive compounds may thus benefit our health status in more profound and complex ways. As such, a healthy microbiota may protect us from dysbiosis-related diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or metabolic disorders. In turn, a resilient dysbiotic microbiota may cause disease. Understanding this intricate network of interactions between microbiota and the host requires a transdisciplinary approach and a greater awareness of the concepts and mechanisms of microbial resilience against dietary, antibiotic, or lifestyle-induced perturbations, which may have grave implications for human health.

This Special Issue invites novel research, reviews, and clinical studies on novel bioactives that induce changes in the cecal microbiota which possess various properties (antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory), maintain intestinal homeostasis, target metabolic responses in the host, or alleviate the effects of dysbiosis. 

Prof. Dr. Wolfram Manuel Brück
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • dysbiosis
  • homeostasis
  • intestinal disease
  • bioactive molecules
  • gut health

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1602 KiB  
Article
Alteration of Gut Microbiota Composition in the Progression of Liver Damage in Patients with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)
by Alejandra Zazueta, Lucía Valenzuela-Pérez, Nicolás Ortiz-López, Araceli Pinto-León, Verónica Torres, Danette Guiñez, Nicolás Aliaga, Pablo Merino, Alexandra Sandoval, Natalia Covarrubias, Edith Pérez de Arce, Máximo Cattaneo, Alvaro Urzúa, Juan Pablo Roblero, Jaime Poniachik, Martín Gotteland, Fabien Magne and Caroll Jenny Beltrán
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(8), 4387; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25084387 - 16 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a complex disorder whose prevalence is rapidly growing in South America. The disturbances in the microbiota–gut–liver axis impact the liver damaging processes toward fibrosis. Gut microbiota status is shaped by dietary and lifestyle factors, depending on [...] Read more.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a complex disorder whose prevalence is rapidly growing in South America. The disturbances in the microbiota–gut–liver axis impact the liver damaging processes toward fibrosis. Gut microbiota status is shaped by dietary and lifestyle factors, depending on geographic location. We aimed to identify microbial signatures in a group of Chilean MASLD patients. Forty subjects were recruited, including healthy controls (HCs), overweight/obese subjects (Ow/Ob), patients with MASLD without fibrosis (MASLD/F−), and MASLD with fibrosis (MASLD/F+). Both MASLD and fibrosis were detected through elastography and/or biopsy, and fecal microbiota were analyzed through deep sequencing. Despite no differences in α- and β-diversity among all groups, a higher abundance of Bilophila and a lower presence of Defluviitaleaceae, Lachnospiraceae ND3007, and Coprobacter was found in MASLD/F− and MASLD/F+, compared to HC. Ruminococcaceae UCG-013 and Sellimonas were more abundant in MASLD/F+ than in Ow/Ob; both significantly differed between MASLD/F− and MASLD/F+, compared to HC. Significant positive correlations were observed between liver stiffness and Bifidobacterium, Prevotella, Sarcina, and Acidaminococcus abundance. Our results show that MASLD is associated with changes in bacterial taxa that are known to be involved in bile acid metabolism and SCFA production, with some of them being more specifically linked to fibrosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advances in Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Diseases)
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22 pages, 9683 KiB  
Article
Multi-Omics Analysis of Gut Microbiota and Host Transcriptomics Reveal Dysregulated Immune Response and Metabolism in Young Adults with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
by Jie Chen, Tingting Zhao, Hongfei Li, Wanli Xu, Kendra Maas, Vijender Singh, Ming-Hui Chen, Susan G. Dorsey, Angela R. Starkweather and Xiaomei S. Cong
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3514; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063514 - 20 Mar 2024
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Abstract
The integrated dysbiosis of gut microbiota and altered host transcriptomics in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is yet to be known. This study investigated the associations among gut microbiota and host transcriptomics in young adults with IBS. Stool and peripheral blood samples from 20 [...] Read more.
The integrated dysbiosis of gut microbiota and altered host transcriptomics in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is yet to be known. This study investigated the associations among gut microbiota and host transcriptomics in young adults with IBS. Stool and peripheral blood samples from 20 IBS subjects and 21 healthy controls (HCs) collected at the baseline visit of an RCT were sequenced to depict the gut microbiota and transcriptomic profiles, respectively. The diversities, composition, and predicted metabolic pathways of gut microbiota significantly differed between IBS subjects and HCs. Nine genera were significantly abundant in IBS stool samples, including Akkermansia, Blautia, Coprococcus, Granulicatella, Holdemania, Oribacterium, Oscillospira, Parabacteroides, and Sutterella. There were 2264 DEGs found between IBS subjects and HCs; 768 were upregulated, and 1496 were downregulated in IBS participants compared with HCs. The enriched gene ontology included the immune system process and immune response. The pathway of antigen processing and presentation (hsa04612) in gut microbiota was also significantly different in the RNA-seq data. Akkermansia, Blautia, Holdemania, and Sutterella were significantly correlated with ANXA2P2 (upregulated, positive correlations), PCSK1N (downregulated, negative correlations), and GLTPD2 (downregulated, negative correlations). This study identified the dysregulated immune response and metabolism in IBS participants revealed by the altered gut microbiota and transcriptomic profiles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advances in Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Diseases)
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19 pages, 2243 KiB  
Article
Supplemented Infant Formula and Human Breast Milk Show Similar Patterns in Modulating Infant Microbiota Composition and Function In Vitro
by Klaudyna Borewicz and Wolfram Manuel Brück
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(3), 1806; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25031806 - 02 Feb 2024
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Abstract
The gut microbiota of healthy breastfed infants is often dominated by bifidobacteria. In an effort to mimic the microbiota of breastfed infants, modern formulas are fortified with bioactive and bifidogenic ingredients. These ingredients promote the optimal health and development of infants as well [...] Read more.
The gut microbiota of healthy breastfed infants is often dominated by bifidobacteria. In an effort to mimic the microbiota of breastfed infants, modern formulas are fortified with bioactive and bifidogenic ingredients. These ingredients promote the optimal health and development of infants as well as the development of the infant microbiota. Here, we used INFOGEST and an in vitro batch fermentation model to investigate the gut health-promoting effects of a commercial infant formula supplemented with a blend containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (20 mg/100 kcal), polydextrose and galactooligosaccharides (PDX/GOS) (4 g/L, 1:1 ratio), milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) (5 g/L), lactoferrin (0.6 g/L), and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis, BB-12 (BB-12) (106 CFU/g). Using fecal inoculates from three healthy infants, we assessed microbiota changes, the bifidogenic effect, and the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production of the supplemented test formula and compared those with data obtained from an unsupplemented base formula and from the breast milk control. Our results show that even after INFOGEST digestion of the formula, the supplemented formula can still maintain its bioactivity and modulate infants’ microbiota composition, promote faster bifidobacterial growth, and stimulate production of SCFAs. Thus, it may be concluded that the test formula containing a bioactive blend promotes infant gut microbiota and SCFA profile to something similar, but not identical to those of breastfed infants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Advances in Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Diseases)
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