Mostly Microbes and Infection

Highlights • Chlamydia trachomatis  (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) co-infections are common. • N. gonorrhoeae  may cause a re-activation of persistent  C. trachomatis  infection. • Transwell inserts eliminate contact-dependent NG anti-chlamydial effects in vitro. • Penicillinase-producing NG alleviates Amoxicillin-induced chlamydial persistence.

In healthy people, #probiotic supplements offer little benefit & can potentially do more harm than good. Studies show that taking probiotic supplements can alter the composition of gut #microbiome & reduce microbial diversity.

Study found mucins shape oral microbiota by serving as nutrients to support metabolic diversity, organizing spatial structure thru reduced aggregation, limiting antagonism between taxa.

Exercise has many benefits—strengthening muscles and bones, preventing disease and extending lifespan. It is also known to change the composition and activity of the trillions of microbes in our guts known as the microbiome.

  Scientists know our gut influences our brain. So psychobiotic drugs that shift the composition of microbes in the gut may be able to help treat disorders such as anxiety and depression

U niversity of the Pacific’s   McGeorge School of Law   is launching an innovative program to help local governments make transformative changes to mental health services with a $5 million grant from the state’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

by Cassio Luiz Coutinho Almeida-da-Silva, Luiz Eduardo Baggio Savio, Robson Coutinho-Silva and David M. Ojcius  The innate immune system in vertebrates and invertebrates relies on conserved receptors and ligands, and pathways that can rapidly initiate the host response against microbial infection and other sources of stress and danger. Research into the family of NOD-like receptors (NLRs) has blossomed over the past two decades, with much being learned about the ligands and conditions that stimulate the NLRs and the outcomes of NLR activation in cells and animals. The NLRs play key roles in diverse functions, ranging from transcription of MHC molecules to initiation of inflammation. Some NLRs are activated directly by their ligands, while other ligands may have indirect effects on the NLRs. New findings in coming years will undoubtedly shed more light on molecular details involved in NLR activation, as well as the physiological and immunological outcomes of NLR ligation.