BACKGROUND The gut microbiota plays crucial roles in the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the precise mechanisms by which alterations of the gut microbiota and its metabolism contributing to the pathogenesis of NASH are not yet fully elucidated. METHODS Mice were fed with a recently reported new class of high-fat diet (HFD), steatohepatitis-inducing HFD (STHD)-01 ...

In recent decades, the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens has become a major threat to public health. Bacteria can acquire antibiotic resistance genes by the mobilization and transfer of resistance genes from a donor strain. The human gut contains a densely populated microbial ecosystem, termed the gut microbiota, which offers ample opportunities for the hor...

JB The gut microbiota are comprised of countless millions of microorganisms that live inside the human digestive tract, all the way from the mouth to the anus. These microorganisms are essential for human survival and have many nutritive and nonnutritive functions. For example, the gut microbiota synthesize nutrients into forms that the body can absorb; produce short-chain fatty acids, which ar...

The human gut microbiota contributes to human health by aiding functions such as digestion, protection against pathogens, host immunity activation, and central nervous system regulation. Its composition is influenced by many effectors such as diet, genetics, and delivery mode. The hygiene hypothesis suggests that an overly clean living environment increases the incidence of asthma, inflammation...

BACKGROUND Recent evidence supports that the maternal gut microbiota impacts the initial infant gut microbiota. Since the gut microbiota may play a causal role in the development of obesity, it is important to understand how pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain (GWG) impact the gut microbiota of mothers at the time of delivery and their infants in early life. In this study, we perfo...

Gut microbiota colonization is a key event for host physiology that occurs early in life. Disruption of this process leads to altered brain development which ultimately manifests as changes in brain function and behaviour in adulthood. Studies using germ-free (GF) mice highlight the extreme impact on brain health that results from life without commensal microbes. However, the impact of microbio...

BACKGROUND Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is one of the most efficient procedures for treating morbid obesity and results in weight-loss and improvements in metabolism and inflammation. OBJECTIVE We examined the impact of RYGB on modifications of gut microbiota and its potential associations with changes in gene expression in white adipose tissue (WAT). DESIGN Gut microbiota were p...

The importance of the gut microbiome in determining not only overall health, but also in the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics, is rapidly emerging. It is becoming increasingly clear that the gut microbiota can act in concert with the host cells to maintain intestinal homeostasis, cometabolize drugs and xenobiotics, and alter the expression levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters...

In the present world scenario, obesity has almost attained the level of a pandemic and is progressing at a rapid rate. This disease is the mother of all other metabolic disorders, which apart from placing an added financial burden on the concerned patient also has a negative impact on his/her well-being and health in the society. Among the various plausible factors for the development of obesit...

The human intestine houses an astounding number and species of microorganisms, estimated at more than 10(14) gut microbiota and composed of over a thousand species. An individual's profile of microbiota is continually influenced by a variety of factors including but not limited to genetics, age, sex, diet, and lifestyle. Although each person's microbial profile is distinct, the relative abundan...