Gut microbiome tagged posts

The Gut Microbiome’s Supersized Role in Shaping Molecules in our Blood

Metabolites associated with both genetics and the microbiome. (A) The 20 metabolites with the highest total R² that were significantly associated with both host genetics and the microbiome. Blue and green colored bars denote individual R² values in genetics-only and microbiome-only regression models, respectively. Gray bars denote R² values from regression using joined genetics and microbiome data. 0.9% of the variance in butyrylcarnitine plasma abundance was explained by microbial features (i.e. too little to be visible in the barplot). (B) R² values obtained by either adding individual contributions of genetics and the microbiome (additive) or by performing a joint regression (joint). The difference between the two groups indicates a small, but nonetheless significant, overlap in variance explained by genetics and the microbiome. However, the variances explained by host genetics and the microbiome were largely additive. Stars denote significance (*** -p<0.001).
Metabolites associated with both genetics and the microbiome. (A) The 20 metabolites with the highest total R² that were significantly associated with both host genetics and the microbiome. Blue and green colored bars denote individual R² values in genetics-only and microbiome-only regression models, respectively. Gray bars denote R² values from regression using joined genetics and microbiome data. 0.9% of the variance in butyrylcarnitine plasma abundance was explained by microbial features (i.e. too little to be visible in the barplot). (B) R² values obtained by either adding individual contributions of genetics and the microbiome (additive) or by performing a joint regression (joint)...
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Scientists Characterize the Imbalanced Gut Bacteria of Patients with Myocardial Infarction, Angina and Heart Failure

In two publications in Nature Medicine, a European-Israeli team of researchers show how major disturbances occur in the gut microbiome of patients suffering from heart disease. Given this latest evidence from microbiome research, one of the senior lead researchers, Professor Oluf Pedersen from the University of Copenhagen, calls for stronger and more focused public health initiatives to prevent or delay these common diseases that are a leading cause of premature death worldwide through plant-based and energy-controlled diet, avoidance of smoking and compliance with daily exercise.

The human gut contains trillions of bacteria, collectively called the gut microbiome, which may have positive and negative effects on human health...

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How Triclosan, found in many consumer products, is triggered to Harm the Gut

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A new study conducted in mice demonstrates precisely how triclosan, an antimicrobial found in many household items, including some toothpastes, toys and thousands of other products, can trigger gut inflammation.

Increasingly, research links triclosan with the gut microbiome and gut inflammation. A new study looks at the potential for combating damage to the intestine. The findings suggest new approaches for improving the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

An international team of researchers led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Hong Kong Baptist University identified the bacteria, and even specific enzymes, that trigger triclosan’s harmful effects...

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Our Genes Shape our Gut Bacteria

Our gut microbiome — the ever-changing “rainforest” of bacteria living in our intestines — is primarily affected by our lifestyle, including what we eat or the medications we take, most studies show. But a University of Notre Dame study has found a much greater genetic component at play than was once known.

In the study, published recently in Science, researchers discovered that most bacteria in the gut microbiome are heritable after looking at more than 16,000 gut microbiome profiles collected over 14 years from a long-studied population of baboons in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park. However, this heritability changes over time, across seasons and with age. The team also found that several of the microbiome traits heritable in baboons are also heritable in humans.

“The environme...

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