• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제64권11호
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• pp.543-551
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• 2021

The human microbiome, which consists of a collective cluster of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms living in the human body, plays a key role in host health and immunity. The human nasal cavity harbors commensal bacteria that suppress the colonization of opportunistic pathogens. However, dysbiosis of the nasal microbial community is associated with many diseases, such as acute respiratory infections including otitis media, sinusitis and bronchitis and allergic respiratory diseases including asthma. The nasopharyngeal acquisition of pneumococcus, which exists as a pathobiont in the nasal cavity, is the initial step in virtually all pneumococcal diseases. Although the factors influencing nasal colonization and elimination are not fully understood, the adhesion of opportunistic pathogens to nasopharyngeal mucosa receptors and the eliciting of immune responses in the host are implicated in addition to bacterial microbiota properties and colonization resistance dynamics. Probiotics or synbiotic interventions may show promising and effective roles in the adjunctive treatment of dysbiosis; however, more studies are needed to characterize how these interventions can be applied in clinical practice in the future.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제86권3호
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• pp.166-175
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• 2023

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The lower airways contain a rich and diverse microbiome, which may play a significant regulatory role in both health and disease. In COPD, the microbiome becomes perturbed, causing dysbiosis. Increased representation of members in the Proteobacteria phylum and certain members in the Firmicutes phylum has been associated with increased risk of exacerbations and mortality. Therapies such as inhaled corticosteroids and azithromycin may modulate the airway microbiome or its metabolites in patients with COPD. This paper provides an up-to-date overview of the airway microbiome and its importance in the pathophysiology of COPD and as potential therapeutic target in the future.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.137-145
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• 2024

Stunting, a condition characterized by impaired growth and development in children, remains a major public health concern worldwide. Over the past decade, emerging evidence has shed light on the potential role of gut microbiota modulation in stunting. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been linked to impaired nutrient absorption, chronic inflammation, altered short-chain fatty acid production, and perturbed hormonal and signaling pathways, all of which may hinder optimal growth in children. This review aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of existing research exploring the bidirectional relationship between stunting and the gut microbiota. Although stunting can alter the gut microbial community, microbiota dysbiosis may exacerbate it, forming a vicious cycle that sustains the condition. The need for effective preventive and therapeutic strategies targeting the gut microbiota to combat stunting is also discussed. Nutritional interventions, probiotics, and prebiotics are among the most promising approaches to modulate the gut microbiota and potentially ameliorate stunting outcomes. Ultimately, a better understanding of the gut microbiota-stunting nexus is vital for guiding evidence-based interventions that can improve the growth and development trajectory of children worldwide, making substantial strides toward reducing the burden of stunting in vulnerable populations.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제25권6호
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• pp.575-583
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• 2021

Composition of the gut microbiota changes with aging and plays an important role in age-associated disease such as metabolic syndrome, cancer, and neurodegeneration. The gut microbiota composition oscillates through the day, and the disruption of their diurnal rhythm results in gut dysbiosis leading to metabolic and immune dysfunctions. It is well documented that circadian rhythm changes with age in several biological functions such as sleep, body temperature, and hormone secretion. However, it is not defined whether the diurnal pattern of gut microbial composition is affected by aging. To evaluate aging effects on the diurnal pattern of the gut microbiome, we evaluated the taxa profiles of cecal contents obtained from young and aged mice of both sexes at daytime and nighttime points by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. At the phylum level, the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and the relative abundances of Verrucomicrobia and Cyanobacteria were increased in aged male mice at night compared with that of young male mice. Meanwhile, the relative abundances of Sutterellaceae, Alloprevotella, Lachnospiraceae UCG-001, and Parasutterella increased in aged female mice at night compared with that of young female mice. The Lachnospiraceae NK4A136 group relative abundance increased in aged mice of both sexes but at opposite time points. These results showed the changes in diurnal patterns of gut microbial composition with aging, which varied depending on the sex of the host. We suggest that disturbed diurnal patterns of the gut microbiome can be a factor for the underlying mechanism of age-associated gut dysbiosis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권5호
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• pp.747-755
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• 2021

The effects of the gut microbiome on both allergy and autoimmunity in dermatological diseases have been indicated in several recent studies. Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a disease involving allergy and autoimmunity, and there is no report detailing the role of microbiota alterations in its development. This study was performed to identify the fecal microbial composition of CSU patients and investigate the different compositions and potential genetic functions on the fecal microbiota between CSU patients and normal controls. The gut microbiota of CSU patients and healthy individuals were obtained by 16s rRNA massive sequencing. Gut microbiota diversity and composition were compared, and bioinformatics analysis of the differences was performed. The gut microbiota composition results showed that Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia were dominant microbiota in CSU patients. The differential analysis showed that relative abundance of the Proteobacteria (p = 0.03), Bacilli (p = 0.04), Enterobacterales (p = 0.03), Enterobacteriaceae (p = 0.03) was significantly increased in CSU patients. In contrast, the relative abundance of Megamonas, Megasphaera, and Dialister (all p < 0.05) in these patients significantly decreased compared with healthy controls. The different microbiological compositions impacted normal gastrointestinal functions based on function prediction, resulting in abnormal pathways, including transport and metabolism. We found CSU patients exhibited gut microbiota dysbiosis compared with healthy controls. Our results indicated CSU is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis and pointed out that the bacterial taxa increased in CSU patients, which might be involved in the pathogenesis of CSU. These results provided clues for future microbial-based therapies on CSU.

• 대한소아치과학회지
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.131-141
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• 2023

치아우식증은 치아, 바이오필름(biofilm), 식이 요인의 상호작용을 기본으로 타액, 불소 등의 구강 환경요인과 생물학적, 행동적, 사회문화적, 유전적 요인이 관여하는 복잡한 다인성질환이다. 최근 치아우식증은 외부 병원체의 감염에 의한 것이 아닌 구강 미생물군의 생태적 변화에 따른 불균형(dysbiosis)의 결과로 이해되면서 전염성질병에서 비전염성 질병(non-communicable diseases, NCD)으로 전환되었다. 치아우식증은 심혈관질환이나 당뇨병과 같이 만성적으로 진행되는 비전염성 질환(NCD) 특성을 가지며, 식이섭취와 생활 습관과 환경적 요소들이 관여한다는 점에서 유사성이 있다. 높은 유병률과 함께 사람들의 건강과 삶의 질에 미치는 영향을 감안할 때 효과적인 구강 건강관리를 목표로 비전염성질환(NCD)로서 치아우식증에 대한 이해가 필요하며, 구강 미생물군의 생태적 균형을 이루기 위한 적절한 예방법과 효율적인 공중보건 정책들이 제공되어야 할 것이다.

• Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
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• 제10권6호
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• pp.575-590
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• 2018

The prevalence of allergic disorders has dramatically increased over the past decade, particularly in developed countries. Apart from gastrointestinal disorders, neoplasia, genital and dermatological diseases etc., dysregulation of gut microbiota (dysbiosis) has also been found to be associated with increased risk of allergies. Probiotics are increasingly being employed to correct dysbiosis and, in turn, to modulate allergic diseases. However, several factors like strain variations and effector metabolites or component of them in a bacterial species can affect the efficacy of those as probiotics. On the other hand, host variations like geographical locations, food habits etc. could also affect the expected results from probiotic usage. Thus, there is a glaring deficiency in our approach to establish probiotics as an irrefutable treatment avenue for suitable disorders. In this review, we explicate on the reported probiotics and their effects on certain allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis, food allergy and asthma to establish their utility. We propose possible measures like elucidation of effector molecules and functional mechanisms of probiotics towards establishing probiotics for therapeutic use. Certain probiotics studies have led to very alarming outcomes which could have been precluded, had effective guidelines been in place. Thus, we also propose ways to secure the safety of probiotics. Overall, our efforts tend to propose necessary discovery and quality assurance guidelines for developing probiotics as potential immunomodulatory 'Pharmabiotics.'

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• 제62권2호
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• pp.211-217
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• 2019

Dietary pattern has paramount importance in shaping the gut microbiota and its associated host health. Herein this study, long term (12 weeks) impact of mushroom derived dietary fiber, ${\beta}-glucan$, is investigated for its effect on low fiber diet consumption. Inclusion of dietary fiber into the low fiber diet (LFD) increased the abundance of genera Lactobacillus and Anaerostipes, the microbes responsible for butyrate (major 'fuel source' of colonocytes) production. Mice fed LFD with ${\beta}-glucan$ showed significant increase in the length of small intestine compared to that of the LFD group without ${\beta}-glucan$. Further, dietary fiber consumption enhanced goblet cell density along with mucosal layer thickness. These results indicate promising effects of ${\beta}-glucan$ towards maintenance of healthy gut and gut microbiota.

• 구강회복응용과학지
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.31-38
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• 2021

목적: 이 연구의 목적은 치주병원균에 대한 헴의 영향을 살펴보기 위함이다. 연구 재료 및 방법: 치주낭에 존재하는 7종의 혐기성세균을 이용하여 실험을 진행하였다. 세균을 혐기환경에서 배지를 이용하여 hemin의 있고 없음으로 하여 배양을 하였다. 세균의 성장은 매 6시간마다 분광광도계를 이용하여 측정하였다. 결과: 헤민의 존재여부에 따른 성장의 차이는 Porphyromonas gingivalis에서만 관찰되었다. Treponema denticola를 제외한 치주병원균의 성장은 헤민의 농도에 의존적인 것으로 관찰되었다. T. denticola의 성장은 헤민에 의해 방해를 받았다. 결론: 헴은 치은연하 치태의 미생물 생태계에서 미생물분포의 불균형을 유도하여 치주염을 유발하는 환경을 조장할 것이다.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.32.1-32.20
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• 2022

Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that primarily targets the salivary and lacrimal glands. The pathology of these exocrine glands is characterized by periductal focal lymphocytic infiltrates, and both T cell-mediated tissue injury and autoantibodies that interfere with the secretion process underlie glandular hypofunction. In addition to these adaptive mechanisms, multiple innate immune pathways are dysregulated, particularly in the salivary gland epithelium. Our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms of SS has substantially improved during the past decade. In contrast to viral infection, bacterial infection has never been considered in the pathogenesis of SS. In this review, oral dysbiosis associated with SS and evidence for bacterial infection of the salivary glands in SS were reviewed. In addition, the potential contributions of bacterial infection to innate activation of ductal epithelial cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and B cells and to the breach of tolerance via bystander activation of autoreactive T cells and molecular mimicry were discussed. The added roles of bacteria may extend our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for this autoimmune exocrinopathy.