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The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Inflammation and the Potential for Manipulation

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 15049

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sinead Cristin Corr

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Guest Editor

Department of Microbiology, School of Genetics and Microbiology, Moyne Institute of Preventative Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, 2 Dublin, Ireland
Interests: microbiome; gut epithelial barrier; innate immunity; macrophage; inflammation; infection; IBD; therapeutics; diet; functional foods; pharmabiotics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, the field of microbiome research has exploded and our knowledge of the importance of the gut microbiome to intestinal health and wellbeing has increased significantly. The overall balance of the composition of the gut microbiota, as well as the contribution of key species and their metabolic by-products, is important in ensuring health, with microbiome disturbances being associated with the development of a range of diseases including nutrition-related disorders and chronic inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and metabolic syndrome.

This Special Issue will focus on the influence of the gut microbiota on intestinal health and the development of inflammation, and the possibility to therapeutically manipulate this relationship, with a specific focus on using functional food ingredients and dietary interventions to promote health. The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together recent research on these topics. Manuscripts that provide novel and mechanistic insights into the role of the microbiota in inflammation are encouraged.

Dr. Sinead Cristin Corr
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Microbiome
Metabolites
Intestinal Epithelial Barrier
Inflammation
Therapeutic strategy
Functional Food ingredients
Diet
Postbiotics
Personalized Medicine

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3147 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Report on Intestinal Flora Disorder, Faecal Short-Chain Fatty Acid Level Decline and Intestinal Mucosal Tissue Weakening Caused by Litchi Extract to Induce Systemic Inflammation in HFA Mice

by Dongfang Sun, Chen Wang, Lijun Sun, Lianhua Hu, Zhijia Fang, Qi Deng, Jian Zhao and Ravi Gooneratne

Nutrients 2022, 14(4), 776; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14040776 - 12 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1740

Abstract

Certain foods are known as “heating” foods in Chinese medicine. Over-consumption of these foods can lead to symptoms known as “heating up”. These symptoms have been shown to be symptoms of systemic low-grade inflammation. However, the mechanism by which these foods cause inflammation is not clear. In this preliminary study, we investigated dysbacteriosis of the gut microbiota as a possible cause of inflammation by litchi, a typical “heating” food. A human flora-associated (HFA) mouse model (donor: n = 1) was constructed. After gavaging the mice with litchi extract suspension at low, medium and high doses (400, 800, 1600 mg/kg·d⁻¹, respectively) (n = 3) for 7 days, the serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, gut microbiota, the concentration of SCFAs and the integrity of the intestinal mucosal barrier were measured. The results revealed significant increases in the abundance of Prevotella and Bacteroides. A significant increase in the abundance of Bilophila and a decrease in Megasomonas was observed in the high-dose group. High-dose litchi intervention led to a decrease of most SCFA levels in the intestine. It also caused a more than two-fold increase in the serum TNF-α level and LPS level but a decrease in the IL-1β and IL-6 levels. Medium- and high-dose litchi intervention caused widening of the intestinal epithelial cell junction complex and general weakening of the intestinal mucosal barrier as well as reduced energy conversion efficiency of the gut microbiota. These data suggest that litchi, when consumed excessively, can lead to a low degree of systematic inflammation and this is linked to its ability to cause dysbacteriosis of the gut microbiota, decrease SCFAs and weaken the intestinal mucosal tissues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Inflammation and the Potential for Manipulation)

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14 pages, 4728 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dietary Barley Leaf Mitigates Tumorigenesis in Experimental Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer

by Daotong Li, Yu Feng, Meiling Tian, Xiaosong Hu, Ruimao Zheng and Fang Chen

Nutrients 2021, 13(10), 3487; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13103487 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2671

Abstract

Dietary barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) leaf (BL) is a popular functional food known to have potential health benefits; however, the effect of BL in colorectal cancer prevention has not been examined. Here, we examined the role of BL on the prevention of colorectal carcinogenesis and defined the mechanism involved. BL supplementation could protect against weight loss, mitigate tumor formation, and diminish histologic damage in mice treated with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Moreover, BL suppressed colonic expression of inflammatory enzymes, while improving the mucosal barrier dysfunctions. The elevated levels of cell proliferation markers and the increased expression of genes involved in β-catenin signaling were also reduced by BL. In addition, analyses of microbiota revealed that BL prevented AOM/DSS-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis by promoting the enrichment of Bifidobacterium. Overall, these data suggest that BL is a promising dietary agent for preventing colitis-associated colorectal cancer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Inflammation and the Potential for Manipulation)

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Review

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26 pages, 1023 KiB

Open AccessReview

Gut Microbial Metabolite-Mediated Regulation of the Intestinal Barrier in the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

by Namrata Iyer and Sinéad C. Corr

Nutrients 2021, 13(12), 4259; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13124259 - 26 Nov 2021

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5207

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease. The disease has a multifactorial aetiology, involving genetic, microbial as well as environmental factors. The disease pathogenesis operates at the host–microbe interface in the gut. The intestinal epithelium plays a central role in IBD disease pathogenesis. Apart from being a physical barrier, the epithelium acts as a node that integrates environmental, dietary, and microbial cues to calibrate host immune response and maintain homeostasis in the gut. IBD patients display microbial dysbiosis in the gut, combined with an increased barrier permeability that contributes to disease pathogenesis. Metabolites produced by microbes in the gut are dynamic indicators of diet, host, and microbial interplay in the gut. Microbial metabolites are actively absorbed or diffused across the intestinal lining to affect the host response in the intestine as well as at systemic sites via the engagement of cognate receptors. In this review, we summarize insights from metabolomics studies, uncovering the dynamic changes in gut metabolite profiles in IBD and their importance as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of disease. We focus on gut microbial metabolites as key regulators of the intestinal barrier and their role in the pathogenesis of IBD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Inflammation and the Potential for Manipulation)

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20 pages, 1272 KiB

Open AccessReview

Intestinal Microbiota as a Contributor to Chronic Inflammation and Its Potential Modifications

by Marta Potrykus, Sylwia Czaja-Stolc, Marta Stankiewicz, Łukasz Kaska and Sylwia Małgorzewicz

Nutrients 2021, 13(11), 3839; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13113839 - 28 Oct 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4661

Abstract

The gut microbiota is a crucial factor in maintaining homeostasis. The presence of commensal microorganisms leads to the stimulation of the immune system and its maturation. In turn, dysbiosis with an impaired intestinal barrier leads to accelerated contact of microbiota with the host’s immune cells. Microbial structural parts, i.e., pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), such as flagellin (FLG), peptidoglycan (PGN), lipoteichoic acid (LTA), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), induce inflammation via activation of pattern recognition receptors. Microbial metabolites can also develop chronic low-grade inflammation, which is the cause of many metabolic diseases. This article aims to systematize information on the influence of microbiota on chronic inflammation and the benefits of microbiota modification through dietary changes, prebiotics, and probiotic intake. Scientific research indicates that the modification of the microbiota in various disease states can reduce inflammation and improve the metabolic profile. However, since there is no pattern for a healthy microbiota, there is no optimal way to modify it. The methods of influencing microbiota should be adapted to the type of dysbiosis. Although there are studies on the microbiota and its effects on inflammation, this subject is still relatively unknown, and more research is needed in this area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Inflammation and the Potential for Manipulation)

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