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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may present risk to patients treated with donor-derived microbiome therapies when appropriate manufacturing controls and inactivation processes are lacking. We report that the manufacturing steps for SER-109, a purified investigational microbiome therapeutic developed to reduce risk of Clostridioides difficile recurrence, inactivate porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, a model coronavirus for SARS-CoV-2.

ImportanceRecurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a debilitating disease leading to poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL), loss of productivity, anxiety, and depression. The potential association of treatment with HRQOL has not been well evaluated.ObjectivesTo explore the association of SER-109 compared with placebo on HRQOL in patients with recurrent CDI up to week 8.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis study was a secondary analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that took place at 56 sites in the US and Canada from July 2017 to April 2020 and included 182 patients randomized to SER-109 or placebo groups.InterventionsSER-109 or placebo (4 capsules once daily for 3 days) following antibiotics for CDI.Main Outcomes and MeasuresExploratory analysis of HRQOL using the disease specific Clostridioides difficile Quality of Life Survey (Cdiff32) assessed at baseline, week 1, and week 8.ResultsIn this study, 182 patients (109 [59.9%] female; mean age, 65.5 [16.5] years) were randomized to SER-109 (89 [48.9%]) or placebo (93 [51.1%]) groups and were included in the primary and exploratory analyses. Baseline Cdiff32 scores were similar between patients in the SER-109 and placebo groups (52.0 [18.3] vs 52.8 [18.7], respectively). The proportion of patients with overall improvement from baseline in the Cdiff32 total score was higher in the SER-109 arm than placebo at week 1 (49.4% vs 26.9%; P = .012) and week 8 (66.3% vs 48.4%; P = .001).Greater improvements in total and physical domain and subdomain scores were observed in patients in the SER-109 group compared with placebo as early as week 1, with continued improvements observed at week 8. Among patients in the placebo group, improvements in HRQOL were primarily observed in patients with nonrecurrent CDI while patients in the SER-109 group reported improvements in HRQOL, regardless of clinical outcome.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this secondary analysis of a phase 3 clinical trial, SER-109, an investigational microbiome therapeutic was associated with rapid and steady improvement in HRQOL compared with placebo through 8 weeks, an important patient-reported outcome.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03183128

A role for fat overfeeding in metabolic dysfunction in humans is commonly implied in the literature. Comparatively less is known about acute carbohydrate overfeeding (COF). We tested the hypothesis that COF predisposes to oxidative stress by channeling electrons away from antioxidants to support energy storage. In a study of 24 healthy human subjects with and without obesity, COF was simulated by oral administration of excess carbohydrates; a two-step hyperinsulinemic clamp was used to evaluate insulin action. The distribution of electrons between oxidative and reductive pathways was evaluated by the changes in the reduction potentials (Eh) of cytoplasmic (lactate, pyruvate) and mitochondrial (β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate) redox couples. Antioxidant redox was measured by the ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione. We used cross-correlation analysis to evaluate the relationships between the trajectories of Eh, insulin, glucose, and respiratory exchange during COF. DDIT3 and XBP1s/u mRNA were measured as markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) in adipose tissue before and after COF. Here, we show that acute COF is characterized by net transfer of electrons from mitochondria to cytoplasm. Circulating glutathione is oxidized in a manner that significantly cross-correlates with increasing insulin levels and precedes the decrease in cytoplasmic Eh. This effect is more pronounced in overweight individuals (OW). Markers of ER stress in subcutaneous fat are detectable in OW within 4 h. We conclude that acute COF contributes to metabolic dysfunction through insulin-dependent pathways that promote electron transfer to the cytoplasm and decrease antioxidant capacity. Characterization of redox during overfeeding is important for understanding the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Current principles assume that conversion of thermic energy to metabolically useful energy follows fixed rules. These principles ignore the possibility of variable proton uncoupling in mitochondria. Our study shows that the net balance of electron distribution between mitochondria and cytoplasm is influenced by insulin in a manner that reduces proton leakage during overfeeding. Characterization of the effects of insulin on redox balance is important for understanding obesity and insulin resistance.

T cell inflammation plays critical roles in the development of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes (T2D). B cells support T cell-mediated inflammation in T2D, but the mechanisms underlying lymphocyte cross-talk and the relative importance of T cell inflammation in human T2D remain untested. Using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and/or purified cells from T2D and non-diabetic (ND) subjects, we show that B cell contact upregulates a pro-inflammatory CD4+ Th17 T cell program in T2D. Neutralization of either B cell CD80/86 or the downstream production of T cell IL-17A/F significantly decreased production of classical diabetogenic cytokines (TNFα, IL-6) in samples from T2D subjects. Although monocytes, B cells and T cells produced TNFα in response to treatment of PBMCs with αCD3/CD28, monocyte TNFα production was independent of IL-17A/F, while IL-17F was critical for maximal TNFα production by both T and B cells. IL-17A/F neutralization also reduced IL-17A and IL-17F production by CD4+ T cells, indicating Th17 function is auto-regulated. We conclude that human B cell co-stimulation broadly supports Th17 cells, which in turn stimulate lymphocytes (but not monocytes) to produce the classical diabetogenic cytokine TNFα.