The Developing Microbiome

Book Description :

The Developing Microbiome: Lessons from Early Life focuses on the establishment of the microbiome in early life, exposing it as a key mediator of diseases and health throughout the lifecycle. The content presents a comprehensive view of the status of the field and draws real-world correlations to health and disease states. It collates the significant research being done in the pediatric microbiome research space and bridges the knowledge gap showing the factors that impact health and disease states throughout the lifecycle. Finally, it offers knowledge on how the microbiome is and can be manipulated to promote change. This is a perfect reference for both researchers and clinical scientists who are interested in the role of the infant microbiome in health and disease, as well as gastroenterologists and pediatricians looking to affect change in their patients. Provides comprehensive coverage of the factors that influence microbiome development Links research in pediatric patients to later life stages Examines increasing evidence on the impact of the microbiome beyond the gut

Book Description :

This book offers a state-of-the-art overview of the vital relationship between human microbiota and infant and child health. Renowned clinical-experimental experts in this field discuss the development of microbiota during early life and review the environmental inputs that affect the developing infant’s gut microbiota, such as early diet and (postnatal) medical interventions. They further describe the interplay between gut microbiota and functional systems of the body, from the immune system to the central nervous system. The book discusses a range of infant and childhood diseases that are associated with microbial changes or dysbiosis, such as gastrointestinal disorders, allergic diseases, autoimmune disorders and respiratory disorders. Additionally mechanisms by which microbial dysbiosis may influence behaviour in infants are discussed. Other topics include the use of current tools in molecular microbiology for microbiota-related research and clinical practice. In the management of particular paediatric disorders, the potential of microbial manipulation with pre- and probiotics during infancy and childhood is increasingly being investigated. This book presents the evidence supporting their use in practice and reviews safety aspects. Microbiota in health and disease: from pregnancy to childhood has the ambition to provide the reader with an overview of the most recent and stunning advances in the field of infant and child microbiota and their role in health, disease and prevention. As such, it is an excellent resource for health care professionals, students and researchers in the field of life sciences.

Book Description :

Our over-sanitized world threatens children’s health, but parents can change their environment into one where they’ll thrive. Babies and young kids are being raised in surroundings that are increasingly cleaner, more hyper hygienic, and more disinfected than ever before. As a result, the beneficial bacteria in their bodies is being altered, promoting conditions and diseases such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, allergies, and autism. As Let Them Eat Dirt shows, there is much that parents can do about this, including breastfeeding if possible, getting a dog, and avoiding antibiotics unless necessary—and yes, it is OK to let kids get a bit dirty.

Book Description :

This book is the second in a series of two, featuring the Adiposity - Omics and Molecular Understanding, serving as an introduction to modern views on how the adipocytes are reciprocally interacting with organ systems in order to explain the biology of the body's fat cells and how they are integrated with other organ systems, like muscle cells and the liver, in order to control the lipid metabolism in our bodies, to finally preserve a positive balance between white and brown/beige adipocyte tissues (WAT and BAT). The understanding of the "omics" of obesity will therefore enable clinicians and researchers to better pursue the untoward incidents of metabolic deviations from a defined and health-bringing homeostasis, with fully responding WAT and BAT, being able to preserve a healthy balance between fat-producing and fat-metabolizing tissues for the benefit of the host, and thus longevity (optimal health with healthy, well-functioning organ systems) throughout a lifetime.

Book Description :

The book provides a comprehensive detailed summary of current status on skin microbiome research in health and disease as well as key regulatory and legal aspects. In the past decade, interest and technology have greatly advanced to unravel the nature and effect of skin microbiome on our health. Diseases such as atopic dermatitis and acne are at the forefront of this research, but also other conditions such as skin cancer are under investigation. In addition, mapping of the skin microbiome has gone from basic to more detailed with attempts to correlate it to various ages, ethnicities and genders. In parallel to mapping it, a great deal of research is dedicated to understanding its functionality and communication (and hence effect) on human cells. The Skin Microbiome Handbook is a summary of current status of knowledge, research tools and approaches in skin microbiome, in health and disease. It contains the following categories: healthy skin microbiome and oral-skin interaction; skin microbiome observational research; skin microbiome in disequilibrium and disease; skin's innate immunity; testing and study design; regulatory and legal aspects for skin microbiome related products. The 18 chapters of the book are written by carefully selected leaders in the academia and industry exhibiting extensive experience and understanding in the areas of interest.

Book Description :

The Gut-Brain Axis: Dietary, Probiotic, and Prebiotic Interventions on the Microbiota examines the potential for microbial manipulation as a therapeutic avenue in central nervous system disorders in which an altered microbiota has been implicated, and explores the mechanisms, sometimes common, by which the microbiota may contribute to such disorders. Focuses on specific areas in which the microbiota has been implicated in gut-brain communication Examines common mechanisms and pathways by which the microbiota may influence brain and behavior Identifies novel therapeutic strategies targeted toward the microbiota in the management of brain activity and behavior

Book Description :

From two of the world’s top scientists and one of the world’s top science writers (all parents), Dirt Is Good is a q&a-based guide to everything you need to know about kids & germs. “Is it OK for my child to eat dirt?” That’s just one of the many questions authors Jack Gilbert and Rob Knight are bombarded with every week from parents all over the world. They've heard everything from “My two-year-old gets constant ear infections. Should I give her antibiotics? Or probiotics?” to “I heard that my son’s asthma was caused by a lack of microbial exposure. Is this true, and if so what can I do about it now?” Google these questions, and you’ll be overwhelmed with answers. The internet is rife with speculation and misinformation about the risks and benefits of what most parents think of as simply germs, but which scientists now call the microbiome: the combined activity of all the tiny organisms inside our bodies and the surrounding environment that have an enormous impact on our health and well-being. Who better to turn to for answers than Drs. Gilbert and Knight, two of the top scientists leading the investigation into the microbiome—an investigation that is producing fascinating discoveries and bringing answers to parents who want to do the best for their young children. Dirt Is Good is a comprehensive, authoritative, accessible guide you've been searching for.

Book Description :

The Food Forum convened a public workshop on February 22-23, 2012, to explore current and emerging knowledge of the human microbiome, its role in human health, its interaction with the diet, and the translation of new research findings into tools and products that improve the nutritional quality of the food supply. The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health: Workshop Summary summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place during the workshop. Over the two day workshop, several themes covered included: The microbiome is integral to human physiology, health, and disease. The microbiome is arguably the most intimate connection that humans have with their external environment, mostly through diet. Given the emerging nature of research on the microbiome, some important methodology issues might still have to be resolved with respect to undersampling and a lack of causal and mechanistic studies. Dietary interventions intended to have an impact on host biology via their impact on the microbiome are being developed, and the market for these products is seeing tremendous success. However, the current regulatory framework poses challenges to industry interest and investment.

Book Description :

The very low birth weight (VLBW) infant is at great risk for marked dysbiosis of the gut microbiome due to multiple factors, including physiological immaturity and prenatal/postnatal influences that disrupt the development of a normal gut flora. However, little is known about the developmental succession of the microbiota in preterm infants as they grow and mature. This review provides a synthesis of our understanding of the normal development of the infant gut microbiome and contrasts this with dysbiotic development in the VLBW infant. The role of human milk in normal gut microbial development is emphasized, along with the role of the gut microbiome in immune development and gastroenteric health. Current research provides evidence that the gut microbiome interacts extensively with many physiological systems and metabolic processes in the developing infant. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are currently no studies prospectively mapping the gut microbiome of VLBW infants through early childhood. This knowledge gap must be filled to inform a healthcare system that can provide for the growth, health, and development of VLBW infants. In conclusion, the study speculates about how the VLBW infants' gut microbiome might function through host-microbe interactions to contribute to the sequelae of preterm birth, including its influence on growth, development, and general health of the infant host.

Book Description :

The 21st century has witnessed a complete revolution in the understanding and description of bacteria in eco- systems and microbial assemblages, and how they are regulated by complex interactions among microbes, hosts, and environments. The human organism is no longer considered a monolithic assembly of tissues, but is instead a true ecosystem composed of human cells, bacteria, fungi, algae, and viruses. As such, humans are not unlike other complex ecosystems containing microbial assemblages observed in the marine and earth environments. They all share a basic functional principle: Chemical communication is the universal language that allows such groups to properly function together. These chemical networks regulate interactions like metabolic exchange, antibiosis and symbiosis, and communication. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Chemical Sciences Roundtable organized a series of four seminars in the autumn of 2016 to explore the current advances, opportunities, and challenges toward unveiling this "chemical dark matter" and its role in the regulation and function of different ecosystems. The first three focused on specific ecosystemsâ€"earth, marine, and humanâ€"and the last on all microbiome systems. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the seminars.

Book Description :

The intestinal microbiome is especially important during the first thousand days of life. Exposure to microbes in utero significantly impacts fetal development, in part through epigenetic processes and in part through hormonal influences which cause a change in the mother's intestinal microbiome. The nature of delivery and perinatal antibiotic treatment, as well as diet (especially in the postpartum period), can also influence initial microbial colonization and the development of appropriate intestinal defense mechanisms. These, in turn, can affect the expression of allergy, autoimmune disease, and brain function, among other things, later in life. The first part of this publication focuses on the development of the human microbiome in utero and the importance of normal colonization of the newborn gut in immune development and disease prevention. The second section deals with the normal development of gut microbiota and with clinical conditions associated with dysbiosis. The final chapters cover various aspects of human milk evolution and oligosaccharides.

Book Description :

Microbial transmission, the processes by which microbes transit to new environments, is a significant and broad-reaching concept with applications throughout the biological sciences. This collection of reviews, edited by an international team of experts studying and working across a range of disciplines, explores transmission not just as an idea in disease but as a fundamental biological process that acts in all domains of nature and exerts its force on disparate size scales, from the micro to the macro, and across units of time as divergent as a single bacterial replication cycle and the entire course of evolution. In five sections, this overview Defines the concept of transmission and covers basic processes of transmission, including causality, control strategies, fitness costs, virulence, and selection Presents numerous combinations of transmission scenarios across the bacterial, animal, and human interface Examines transmission as the defining characteristic of infectious disease Presents methods for experimentally verifying and quantifying transmission episodes Concludes with important theoretical and modeling approaches Anyone studying or working in microbial colonization, evolution, pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance, or public health will benefit from a deeper understanding of Microbial Transmission.

Book Description :

The Microbiome in Prenatal and Neonatal Life clarifies that the microbiome in the maternal fetal unit and immediate changes that occur as new microbes are acquired postnatally play major roles in subsequent health and disease. Rapidly developing technologies for multi-omic analyses and systems biology are shifting paradigms in both scientific knowledge and clinical care with regard to this topic. In essence, we are changing the idea that newborns emerge from sterile environments. As such, in-utero colonization may have impacts on the development of immunity and metabolism that, with epigenetic modifications, will lead to diseases in later life. In addition, the microbial profile that develops during and after birth depends on mode of delivery, type of feeding (human milk versus formula), and various other environmental factors to which the newborn is exposed. Discusses the critical nonredundant timeframe in a newborn's life during which many factors drive immune and tissue maturation and influence the susceptibility to immune-mediated and other diseases in adult life Proves that the fetus and uterine membranes are exposed to not only microbes in close proximity but also to microbial products from metabolism of microbes in the mother Shows that since early life periods are a critical window for development, epigenetic and/or immunologic alterations may occur that can affect not only the infant during his/her lifetime but also subsequent generations Gives insight into factors that may affect the newborn microbiome and subsequent development

Book Description :

The Microbiome in Health and Disease, Volume 171 in the Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science series, provides the most topical, informative and exciting monographs available on a wide variety of research topics. The series includes in-depth knowledge on the molecular biological aspects of organismal physiology, with this release including chapters on Microbiome in health and disease, CNS development and microbiome in infants, A gut feeling in ALS, Microbiome (Virome) and virus infection, Bugs and Drugs: microbiome in medicine metabolism, Immunity, T cells, and microbiome, Salmonella (Bacterial) infection and cancer: of mice and men, and many other highly researched topics. Provides a novel theme and multiple disciplinary topics of microbiome research in basic and translational studies Presents an updated collection on bacteria, virus, fungi and their interactions in microbiome Includes a timely discussion on the tools and methods used for modeling and analysis of microbiome data

Book Description :

Neonatal late-onset sepsis is invasive infection occurring after the first 48 hours of life, and one of the leading causes of death among preterm infants in the United States and abroad. Infections with Gram-negative bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, occurring when bacteria translocate across premature gut epithelium into the bloodstream, can be particularly severe. Preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit undergo intense antibiotic regimens due to high risk of infection. Paradoxically, prolonged exposure of preterm infants to empiric antibiotic therapy early in the hospital stay is associated with increased risk of intestinal infection and death after adjustment for covariates. Bacterial translocation rates across mature gut epithelium are determined by complex interactions between the host’s commensal microbiota and immune system, and pathogens. Commensal microbes are believed to confer protection from bacterial translocation by competing with pathogens for space and resources, and by inducing gut immune system development directly. This study explores the role of gut microbial colonization early in life in protecting neonates from invading pathogens and in inducing gut maturation. The execution of these studies relies heavily on a mouse model of lateonset sepsis we developed in which an engineered bioluminescent strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae can be imaged in real-time within live animals. MiSeq high-throughput sequencing for bacterial 16S was used to elucidate the kinetics of colonization in pups from birth to weaning age. Sequencing revealed an important trend in colonization that early colony founders are hearty, ubiquitous species that may help prime the gut environment for colonization by microbes with stricter environmental or nutritional limitations, such as anaerobes. Importantly, our analyses demonstrate that although the maternal-derived colonization plays a critical role in early colonization of her pups, exposure to vaginal flora is not necessary for successful early colonization. Further, maternal antibiotics were found to drastically change the microbial landscape in young pups with downstream detrimental effects on resistance to Klebsiella challenge depending on the type of antibiotic administered. This novel mouse model affords us the opportunity to examine gut and colony maturation more closely. Data acquired from these studies provides new insights into the etiology of neonatal late-onset sepsis that may become important for treatment and prevention of the human disease.

Book Description :

Why the microbiome--our rich inner ecosystem of microorganisms--may hold the keys to human health. We are at the dawn of a new scientific revolution. Our understanding of how to treat and prevent diseases has been transformed by knowledge of the microbiome--the rich ecosystem of microorganisms that is in and on every human. These microbial hitchhikers may hold the keys to human health. In Gut Feelings, Alessio Fasano and Susie Flaherty show why we must go beyond the older, myopic view of microorganisms as our enemies to a broader understanding of the microbiome as a parallel civilization that we need to understand, respect, and engage with for the benefit of our own health.

Book Description :

The Human Microbiome in Early Life: Implications to Health and Disease presents recent research advances that have highlighted the significance of early life, possibly beginning before birth, in the establishment of both the microbiome and its role in health and disease. The book reviews current knowledge on the origins of the human microbiota in early life, presents exposures which may disturb normal microbial colonization, and covers their implications to the risk of disease. Finally, emerging means to modify the early human microbiome to improve health are discussed. Examines the timeline of the human microbiome, from before conception to infancy, with an emphasis on clinical implications Evaluates the effort to understand not only the composition but also the origin of the microbiome Proves the emerging means to modify the human microbiome and particularly ‘the first 1000 days of life’ improve human health and prevent disease Generates resources to facilitate characterization of the human microbiota to further our understanding of how the microbiome impacts human health and disease

Book Description :

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex disease with a presumed autoimmune aetiology and few current effective treatments. Disease modifying therapies focus on the altering the natural course of relapsing and remitting MS, targeting the inflammatory response. Other targets involve tacking the cause of the disease – demyelination of axons through remyelination therapies. Due to several recent breakthroughs in the understanding of the pathophysiology of MS new targets for remyelination and immunomodulation are rapidly emerging. This book provides a comprehensive overview of drug discovery and development for the molecular basis of the disease, from new targets to drugs currently in clinical development, cellular and animal disease models to biomarkers for diagnosis and assessment in clinical trials. Emerging Drugs and Targets for Multiple Sclerosis is an ideal reference for any student or researcher interested in drug development for neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases and MS in particular.

Book Description :

Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease, Fourth Edition, is a compilation of current knowledge in clinical nutrition and an overview of the rationale and science base of its application to practice in the prevention and treatment of disease. In its fourth edition, this text continues the tradition of incorporating new discoveries and methods related to this important area of research Generating and analyzing data that summarize dietary intake and its association with disease are valuable tasks in treating disease and developing disease prevention strategies. Well-founded medical nutrition therapies can minimize disease development and related complications. Providing scientifically sound, creative, and effective nutrition interventions is both challenging and rewarding. Two new chapters on metabolomics and translational research, which have come to be used in nutrition research in recent years. The new areas of study are discussed with the perspective that the application of the scientific method is by definition an evolutionary process. A new chapter on Genetics and Diabetes which reviews the latest research on causal genetic variants and biological mechanisms responsible for the disease, and explores potential interactions with environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. Includes all major "omics" – the exposome, metabolomics, genomics, and the gut microbiome. Expands the microbiota portions to reflect complexity of diet on gut microbial ecology, metabolism and health

Book Description :

Microbiome, Immunity, Digestive Health and Nutrition: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Prevention and Treatment addresses a wide range of topics related to the role of nutrition in achieving and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Written by leading experts in the field, the book outlines the various foods, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibers, prebiotics, probiotics, nutritional supplements, phytochemicals and drugs that improve gut health. It specifically addresses molecular and cellular mechanisms and pathways by which these nutritional components contribute to the physiology and functionality of a healthy gut microbiome and gut health. Intended for nutrition researchers and practitioners, food experts, gastroenterologists, nurses, general practitioners, public health officials and health professionals, this book is sure to be a welcomed resource. Outlines the nutritional guidelines and healthy lifestyle that is important to boost gut health Demonstrates the effects of diverse environmental stressors in the disruption of the gastrointestinal ecology Discusses the molecular and immunological mechanisms associated with healthy gut microbiome functions Addresses how to boost healthy gut microflora and microbiome Suggests areas for future research of microbiome-based nutrition and therapies