Host-Microbe Biology
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Controlled Human Infection Model of Group A Streptococcus Pharyngitis: Which Strain and Why?GAS (Streptococcus pyogenes) is a leading global cause of infection-related morbidity and mortality. A modern CHIM of GAS pharyngitis could help to accelerate vaccine development and drive pathogenesis research. Challenge strain selection is critical to the safety and success of any CHIM and especially so for an organism such as GAS, with its wide strain diversity and...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyEndocytic Markers Associated with the Internalization and Processing of Aspergillus fumigatus Conidia by BEAS-2B CellsConidia from the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus are notorious for their ability to stay airborne. This characteristic is believed to allow conidia to penetrate into the cleanest environments. Several hundred conidia are thought to be inhaled each day by a given individual and then expelled by mucociliary clearance. Given that airway epithelial cells make up a...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyComparison of Subtyping Approaches and the Underlying Drivers of Microbial Signatures for Chronic RhinosinusitisChronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a major human health problem that significantly reduces quality of life. While various microbes have been implicated, there is no clear understanding of the role they play in CRS pathogenesis. Another equally important observation made for CRS patients is that the epithelial barrier in the sinonasal cavity is defective. Finding a robust approach to subtype CRS patients would be the first step toward...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Glucoamylase Inhibitor Acarbose Has a Diet-Dependent and Reversible Effect on the Murine Gut MicrobiomeThe gut microbial community has a profound influence on host physiology in both health and disease. In diabetic individuals, the gut microbiota can affect the course of disease, and some medications for diabetes, including metformin, seem to elicit some of their benefits via an interaction with the microbiota. Here, we report that acarbose, a glucoamylase inhibitor for type 2 diabetes, changes the murine gut bacterial community...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Gut Microbiota Is Associated with Clearance of Clostridium difficile Infection Independent of Adaptive ImmunityClostridium difficile infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients in the United States. Currently, the role of the adaptive immune response in modulating levels of C. difficile colonization is unresolved. This work suggests that the indigenous gut microbiota is a...
Observation | Host-Microbe BiologyA Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Transcription Factor Involved in Sclerotial Development and Virulence on PeaWhite mold, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a destructive disease on important legume species such as soybean, dry bean, and pea. This study investigated expression levels of transcription factors in S. sclerotiorum in planta (pea lines) and in vitro (culture medium). One...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyImaging Mass Spectrometry and Proteome Analysis of Marek’s Disease Virus-Induced TumorsMarek’s disease virus (MDV) is an oncogenic alphaherpesvirus that infects chickens and causes the most frequent clinically diagnosed cancer in the animal kingdom. Not only is MDV an important pathogen that threatens the poultry industry but it is also used as a natural virus-host model for herpesvirus-induced tumor formation. In order to visualize MDV-induced lymphoma and to identify potential biomarkers in an unbiased approach, we...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDiversity and Population Overlap between Avian and Human Escherichia coli Belonging to Sequence Type 95APEC causes a range of infections in poultry, collectively called colibacillosis, and is the leading cause of mortality and is associated with major economic significance in the poultry industry. A growing number of studies have suggested APEC as an external reservoir of human ExPEC, including UPEC, which is a reservoir. ExPEC belonging to ST95 is considered one of the most important pathogens in both poultry and humans. This study is...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Human Sodium Iodide Symporter as a Reporter Gene for Studying Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus PathogenesisAdvanced medical imaging such as single photon emission computed tomography with computed tomography (SPECT/CT) enhances fields such as oncology and cardiology. Application of SPECT/CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography to infectious disease may enhance pathogenesis studies and provide alternate biomarkers of disease progression. The experiments described in this article focus on insertion of a SPECT/CT-...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMarginal Zinc Deficiency and Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Arsenic Elicit Combined Effects on the Gut MicrobiomeXenobiotic compounds, such as arsenic, have the potential to alter the composition and functioning of the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome may also interact with these compounds to mediate their impact on the host. However, little is known about how dietary variation may reshape how the microbiome responds to xenobiotic exposures or how these modified responses may in turn impact host physiology. Here, we investigated the...