Gut microbiota alterations in stable outpatients with schizophrenia: findings from a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of schizophrenia is multidimensional and intensively studied. The gut-brain axis disturbances might play a significant role in the development of schizophrenia. METHODS: We compared the gut microbiota of 53 individuals with schizophrenia and 58 healthy controls, using the 16S rRNA sequencing method. Individuals with schizophrenia were assessed using the following scales: the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia, the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. RESULTS: No significant between-group differences in α-diversity measures were observed. Increased abundance of Lactobacillales (order level), Bacilli (class level) and Actinobacteriota (phylum level) were found in individuals with schizophrenia regardless of potential confounding factors, and using two independent analytical approaches (the distance-based redundancy analysis and the generalised linear model analysis). Additionally, significant correlations between various bacterial taxa (the Bacteroidia class, the Actinobacteriota phylum, the Bacteroidota phylum, the Coriobacteriales order and the Coriobacteria class) and clinical manifestation (the severity of negative symptoms, performance of language abilities, social and occupational functioning) were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that gut microbiota alterations are present in European patients with schizophrenia. The abundance of certain bacterial taxa might be associated with the severity of negative symptoms, cognitive performance and general functioning. Nonetheless, additional studies are needed before the translation of our results into clinical practice.

Airway Bacterial Biodiversity in Exhaled Breath Condensates of Asthmatic Children-Does It Differ from the Healthy Ones?

Asthma etiopathology is still not fully determined. One of its possible causes can be found in airway microbiome dysbiosis. The study's purpose was to determine whether there are any significant differences in the bacterial microbiome diversity of lower airways microbiota of asthmatic children, since knowledge of this topic is very scarce. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first research using exhaled breath condensates in children's lower airways for bacterial assessment. Exhaled breath condensates (EBC) and oropharyngeal swabs were obtained from pediatric asthmatic patients and a healthy group (n = 38, 19 vs. 19). The microbial assessment was conducted through genetic material PCR amplification, followed by bacterial 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Collected data were analyzed, in terms of taxonomy and alpha and beta diversity between assessed groups. Swab samples are characterized by higher species richness compared to exhaled breath condensates (Shannon diversity index (mean 4.11 vs. 2.867, p = 9.108 × 10-8), observed features (mean 77.4 vs. 17.3, p = 5.572 × 10-11), and Faith's phylogenetic diversity (mean 7.686 vs. 3.280 p = 1.296 × 10-10)). Asthmatic children had a higher abundance of bacterial species (Shannon diversity index, mean 3.029 vs. 2.642, p = 0.026) but more even distribution (Pielou's evenness, mean 0.742 vs. 0.648, p = 0.002) in EBC than healthy ones; the same results were observed within pediatric patients born naturally within EBC samples. In children with a positive family history of allergic diseases, alpha diversity of lower airway material was increased (Shannon's diversity index p = 0.026, Faith's phylogenetic diversity p = 0.011, observed features p = 0.003). Class Gammaproteobacteria and Bacilli were less abundant among asthmatics in the exhaled breath samples. The most dominant bacteria on a phylum level in both sample types were Firmicutes, followed by Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota. The obtained outcome of higher bacterial diversity of lower airways among asthmatic patients indicates a further need for future studies of microbiota connection with disease pathogenesis.

Machine-learning-based Analysis Identifies miRNA Expression Profile for Diagnosis and Prediction of Colorectal Cancer: A Preliminary Study.

BACKGROUND: The stage of colorectal cancer (CRC) at the day of diagnosis has the greatest influence on survival rate. Thus, for CRC, which is mainly identified as advanced disease, non-invasive, molecular blood or stool tests could boost the diagnosis and lower mortality. Evaluation of miRNA expression levels in serum of patients diagnosed with CRC is a potential tool in early screening. Screening can be supported by machine learning (ML) as a tool for developing a cancer risk predictive model based on genetic data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: miRNA was isolated from the serum of 8 patients diagnosed with CRC and 10 patients from a control group matched for age and sex. The expression of 179 miRNAs was determined using a serum/plasma panel (Exiqon). Determinations were conducted using real-time PCR technique on an Applied Biosystems QuantStudio3 device in 96-well plates. A predictive model was developed through the Azure Machine Learning platform. RESULTS: A wide panel of 29 up-regulated miRNAs in CRC were identified and divided into two subgroups: 1) miRNAs with significantly higher serum level in cancer patients vs. controls (24 miRNAs) and 2) miRNAs detected only in cancer patients and not in controls (5 miRNAs). Re-analysis of published miRNA profiles of CRC tumours or CRC exosomes revealed that only 2 out of 29 miRNAs were up-regulated in all datasets including ours (miR-34a and miR-25-3p). CONCLUSION: Our research suggests the potential role of overexpressed miRNAs as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers among CRC patients. Such clustering of miRNAs may be a potential direction for discovering new diagnostic panels of cancer (including CRC), especially using ML. The low correspondence between deregulation of miRNAs in serum and tumour tissue revealed in our study confirms previously published reports.

Homeostasis of the Intestinal Mucosa in Healthy Horses-Correlation between the Fecal Microbiome, Secretory Immunoglobulin A and Fecal Egg Count.

The defensive function of the intestinal mucosa depends both on the ability to secrete immunoglobulin A and communication with the mucus microbiome. In horses, the functioning of this system is also influenced by the presence of nematode eggs. Feces collected from healthy horses were examined to determine the fecal egg count, immunoglobulin A level (ELISA), microbiome composition (Next-Generation Sequencing, NGS, V3−V4 and V7−V9 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene analysis and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production ((high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC). In the taxonomic analysis within the phylum, the following order of dominance was found: Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota and Fibrobacterota. The coefficient of phylogenetic diversity of the microbiome positively correlated with both secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) [µg/g of feces] (p = 0.0354, r = 0.61) and SIgA [µg/mg of fecal protein] (p = 0.0382, r = 0.6) and with the number of Cyathostomum eggs (p = 0.0023, r = 0.79). Important components of the key microbiome in horses, such as phylum Proteobacteria and species Ruminococcus flavefaciens, were positively correlated with the fecal SIgA (p < 0.05). All the obtained results indicate the existence of significant relationships between the host response (SIgA production) and composition and SCFA production in the microbiome as well as the presence of small strongyles in the digestive tract of horses.

ABE8e adenine base editor precisely and efficiently corrects a recurrent COL7A1 nonsense mutation.

Base editing introduces precise single-nucleotide edits in genomic DNA and has the potential to treat genetic diseases such as the blistering skin disease recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), which is characterized by mutations in the COL7A1 gene and type VII collagen (C7) deficiency. Adenine base editors (ABEs) convert A-T base pairs to G-C base pairs without requiring double-stranded DNA breaks or donor DNA templates. Here, we use ABE8e, a recently evolved ABE, to correct primary RDEB patient fibroblasts harboring the recurrent RDEB nonsense mutation c.5047 C > T (p.Arg1683Ter) in exon 54 of COL7A1 and use a next generation sequencing workflow to interrogate post-treatment outcomes. Electroporation of ABE8e mRNA into a bulk population of RDEB patient fibroblasts resulted in remarkably efficient (94.6%) correction of the pathogenic allele, restoring COL7A1 mRNA and expression of C7 protein in western blots and in 3D skin constructs. Off-target DNA analysis did not detect off-target editing in treated patient-derived fibroblasts and there was no detectable increase in A-to-I changes in the RNA. Taken together, we have established a highly efficient pipeline for gene correction in primary fibroblasts with a favorable safety profile. This work lays a foundation for developing therapies for RDEB patients using ex vivo or in vivo base editing strategies.

Future Directions in Reducing Gastrointestinal Disorders in Children With ASD Using Fecal Microbiota Transplantation.

Research on the use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in the treatment of disorders related to digestive system ailments in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a new attempt in a therapeutic approach. There are very little scientific evidences available on this emerging alternative method. However, it appears to be interesting not only because of its primary outcome, relieving the gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, but also secondary therapeutic effect of alleviating autistic behavioral symptoms. FMT seems to be also promising method in the treatment of another group of pediatric patients, children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study is to discuss the potential use of FMT and modified protocols (MTT, microbiota transfer therapy) in the treatment of GI disorders in ASD children supported by reports on another disease, IBD concerning pediatric patients. Due to the few reports of the use of FMT in the treatment of children, these two patients groups were selected, although suffering from distant health conditions: neurodevelopmental disorder and gastrointestinal tract diseases, because of the the fact that they seem related in aspects of the presence of GI symptoms, disturbed intestinal microbiota, unexplained etiology of the condition and age range of patients. Although the outcomes for all are promising, this type of therapy is still an under-researched topic, studies in the group of pediatric patients are sparse, also there is a high risk of transmission of infectious and noninfectious elements during the procedure and no long-term effects on global health are known. For those reasons all obtained results should be taken with a great caution. However, in the context of future therapeutic directions for GI observed in neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, the topic seems worthy of attention.