Mostly Microbes and Infection

 by David M. Ojcius, Ardavan Jafari, Laxmi Yeruva, Christian W. Schindler, Ali A. Abdul-Sater   Inflammation plays a critical role in initiation of adaptive immunity, pathogen clearance and tissue repair. Interleukin (IL)-1β is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine and therefore its production is tightly regulated: its secretion requires the assembly of a macromolecular protein complex, termed the inflammasome. Aberrant activation of the inflammasome has been linked to debilitating human diseases including chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Thus, there is a great interest in understanding how inflammasomes are regulated. Here we show that Dicer, an enzyme necessary for the production of mature micro-RNAs (miRNAs), is required for optimal activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes in bone marrow macrophages. Our data indicate that miRNAs may play an important role in promoting inflammasome activation.

  · Eat like a centenarian by incorporating fiber-rich foods into your diet. · Exercise your body. · Exercise your brain. · Stay connected. Social isolation and loneliness are risk factors for dementia. · Foster resilience. When something bad occurs, try to embrace the challenge.  

  Centenarians display youth-associated features in gut microbiome such as over-representation of Bacteroides -dominated enterotype, increase in species evenness, enrichment of potentially beneficial Bacteroidetes, depletion of potential pathobionts  

A small study in humans found that intermittent fasting modulates the intestinal microbiota & improves obesity & host energy metabolism . The study found enrichment of Parabacteroides distasonis & Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron after the intervention.

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.