0000000000275532
AUTHOR
Mónica Martínez-martínez
Effects of HIV, antiretroviral therapy and prebiotics on the active fraction of the gut microbiota
In a recent blinded randomized study, we found that in HIV-infected individuals a short supplementation with prebiotics (scGOS/lcFOS/glutamine) ameliorates dysbiosis of total gut bacteria, particularly among viremic untreated patients. Our study goal was to determine the fraction of the microbiota that becomes active during the intervention and that could provide additional functional information.A total of six healthy individuals, and 16 HIV-infected patients comprising viremic untreated patients (n = 5) and antiretroviral therapy-treated patients that are further divided into immunological responders (n = 7) and immunological nonresponders (n = 4) completed the 6-week course of prebiotic …
Functional consequences of microbial shifts in the human gastrointestinal tract linked to antibiotic treatment and obesity
The microbiomes in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of individuals receiving antibiotics and those in obese subjects undergo compositional shifts, the metabolic effects and linkages of which are not clearly understood. Herein, we set to gain insight into these effects, particularly with regard to carbohydrate metabolism, and to contribute to unravel the underlying mechanisms and consequences for health conditions. We measured the activity level of GIT carbohydrate-active enzymes toward 23 distinct sugars in adults patients (n = 2) receiving 14-d β-lactam therapy and in obese (n = 7) and lean (n = 5) adolescents. We observed that both 14 d antibiotic-treated and obese subjects showed higher …
Ranking the impact of human health disorders on gut metabolism: Systemic lupus erythematosus and obesity as study cases
Multiple factors have been shown to alter intestinal microbial diversity. It remains to be seen, however, how multiple collective pressures impact the activity in the gut environment and which, if any, is positioned as a dominant driving factor determining the final metabolic outcomes. Here, we describe the results of a metabolome-wide scan of gut microbiota in 18 subjects with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 17 healthy control subjects and demonstrate a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the two groups. Healthy controls could be categorized (p < 0.05) based on their body mass index (BMI), whereas individuals with SLE could not. We discuss the prevalence of SLE c…
Functional microbiome deficits associated with ageing: chronological age-threshold
Composition of the gut microbiota changes during ageing, but questions remain about whether age is also associated with deficits in microbiome function and whether these changes occur sharply or progressively. The ability to define these deficits in populations of different ages may help determine a chronological age threshold at which deficits occur and subsequently identify innovative dietary strategies for active and healthy ageing. Here, active gut microbiota and associated metabolic functions were evaluated using shotgun proteomics in three well‐defined age groups consisting of 30 healthy volunteers, namely, ten infants, ten adults and ten elderly individuals. Samples from each volunte…
Gut Bacteria Metabolism Impacts Immune Recovery in HIV-infected Individuals.
While changes in gut microbial populations have been described in human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART), the mechanisms underlying the contributions of gut bacteria and their molecular agents (metabolites and proteins) to immune recovery remain unexplored. To study this, we examined the active fraction of the gut microbiome, through examining protein synthesis and accumulation of metabolites inside gut bacteria and in the bloodstream, in 8 healthy controls and 29 HIV-infected individuals (6 being longitudinally studied). We found that HIV infection is associated to dramatic changes in the active set of gut bacteria simultaneously alter…
A body weight loss- and health-promoting gut microbiota is established after bariatric surgery in individuals with severe obesity
Obesity has reached an epidemic level worldwide, and bariatric surgery (BS) has been proven to be the most efficient therapy to reduce severe obesity-related comorbidities. Given that the gut microbiota plays a causal role in obesity development and that surgery may alter the gut environment, investigating the impact of BS on the microbiota in the context of severe obesity is important. Although, alterations at the level of total gut bacteria, total gene content and total metabolite content have started to be disentangled, a clear deficit exists regarding the analysis of the active fraction of the microbiota, which is the fraction that is most reactive to the BS. Here, active gut microbiota…
HIV infection results in metabolic alterations in the gut microbiota different from those induced by other diseases.
Imbalances in gut bacteria have been associated with multiple diseases. However, whether there are disease-specific changes in gut microbial metabolism remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (n=33) changes, at quantifiable levels, the metabolism of gut bacteria. These changes are different than those observed in patients with the auto-immune disease systemic lupus erythaematosus (n=18), and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (n=6). Using healthy controls as a baseline (n=16), we demonstrate that a trend in the nature and directionality of the metabolic changes exists according to the type of the disease. The impact on the gut microbia…