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Abstract The aim of this study was to analyze the association between vaginal microbiota, carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) and histological findings of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The study included 132 females, among them 66 were diagnosed with high-grade intraepithelial lesion (CIN2, CIN3, and cancer), 14 with low-grade disease, and 52 assigned to the control group. An interview focused on the behavior risk factors, together with vaginal fluid pH measurement, wet mount microscopy, detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, and Trichomonas vaginalis were performed. After colposcopy, high-grade abnormalities were detected via direct biopsies and treated with conization procedure. Conuses were immuno-stained with CAIX antibody. The histological findings were CIN1 (n = 14), and CIN2+ (included CIN2 (n = 10), CIN3 (n = 49), and cancer (n = 7; squamous cell carcinomas)). Prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) was similar between the groups. Moderate or severe aerobic vaginitis (msAV) was diagnosed more often among CIN2+ (53.0%) than CIN1 (21.4%). Moderate or strong immunostaining of CAIX (msCAIX) was not detected among CIN1 cases. Thus, msAV was prevalent in CAIX non-stained group (p = 0.049) among CIN2 patients. Co-location of msAV and msCAIX was found in CIN3. Regression model revealed that msAV associated with high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia independently from smoking and the number of partners.

ABSTRACT Microbes found in the digestive tracts of insects are known to play an important role in their host’s behavior. Although Lepidoptera is one of the most varied insect orders, the link between microbial symbiosis and host development is still poorly understood. In particular, little is known about the role of gut bacteria in metamorphosis. Here, we explored gut microbial biodiversity throughout the life cycle of Galleria mellonella, using amplicon pyrosequencing with the V1 to V3 regions, and found that Enterococcus spp. were abundant in larvae, while Enterobacter spp. were predominant in pupae. Interestingly, eradication of Enterococcus spp. from the digestive system accelerated the larval-to-pupal transition. Furthermore, host transcriptome analysis demonstrated that immune response genes were upregulated in pupae, whereas hormone genes were upregulated in larvae. In particular, regulation of antimicrobial peptide production in the host gut correlated with developmental stage. Certain antimicrobial peptides inhibited the growth of Enterococcus innesii, a dominant bacterial species in the gut of G. mellonella larvae. Our study highlights the importance of gut microbiota dynamics on metamorphosis as a consequence of the active secretion of antimicrobial peptides in the G. mellonella gut. IMPORTANCE First, we demonstrated that the presence of Enterococcus spp. is a driving force for insect metamorphosis. RNA sequencing and peptide production subsequently revealed that antimicrobial peptides targeted against microorganisms in the gut of Galleria mellonella (wax moth) did not kill Enterobacteria species, but did kill Enterococcus species, when the moth was at a certain stage of growth, and this promoted moth pupation.

Fibrosis is a complex and difficult to elucidate pathological process with no available therapies. Growing evidence implicates intestinal microbiota in the occurrence and development of fibrosis, and the potential mechanisms involved in different organs have been explored in several studies. In this review, we summarize the causative and preventive effects of gut microbiota on intestinal fibrosis, as well as the relationships between gut microbiota and fibrosis in other organs. Interestingly, several colonized microbes are associated with fibrosis via their structural components and metabolic products. They may also play essential roles in regulating inflammation and fibroblast activation or differentiation, which modulates extracellular matrix formation. While the relationships between intestinal fibrosis and gut microbiota remain unclear, lessons can be drawn from the effects of gut microbiota on hepatic, cardiac, nephritic, and pulmonary fibrosis. Various intestinal microbes alterations have been detected in different fibrotic organs; however, the results were heterogeneous. Mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiota regulate fibrotic processes in other organs, such as novel metabolic products or specific microbes, are also discussed. The specific microbiota associated with fibrosis in other organs could instruct future studies aiming to discover prospective mechanisms regulating intestinal fibrosis.

Fibrosis is a complex and difficult to elucidate pathological process with no available therapies. Growing evidence implicates intestinal microbiota in the occurrence and development of fibrosis, and the potential mechanisms involved in different organs have been explored in several studies. In this review, we summarize the causative and preventive effects of gut microbiota on intestinal fibrosis, as well as the relationships between gut microbiota and fibrosis in other organs. Interestingly, several colonized microbes are associated with fibrosis via their structural components and metabolic products. They may also play essential roles in regulating inflammation and fibroblast activation or differentiation, which modulates extracellular matrix formation. While the relationships between intestinal fibrosis and gut microbiota remain unclear, lessons can be drawn from the effects of gut microbiota on hepatic, cardiac, nephritic, and pulmonary fibrosis. Various intestinal microbes alterations have been detected in different fibrotic organs; however, the results were heterogeneous. Mechanisms by which the intestinal microbiota regulate fibrotic processes in other organs, such as novel metabolic products or specific microbes, are also discussed. The specific microbiota associated with fibrosis in other organs could instruct future studies aiming to discover prospective mechanisms regulating intestinal fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbes found in the digestive tracts of insects are known to play an important role in their host's behavior. Although Lepidoptera is one of the most varied insect orders, the link between microbial symbiosis and host development is still poorly understood. In particular, little is known about the role of gut bacteria in metamorphosis. Here, we explored gut microbial biodiversity throughout the life cycle of Galleria mellonella, using amplicon pyrosequencing with the V1 to V3 regions, and found that Enterococcus spp. were abundant in larvae, while Enterobacter spp. were predominant in pupae. Interestingly, eradication of Enterococcus spp. from the digestive system accelerated the larval-to-pupal transition. Furthermore, host transcriptome analysis demonstrated that immune response genes were upregulated in pupae, whereas hormone genes were upregulated in larvae. In particular, regulation of antimicrobial peptide production in the host gut correlated with developmental stage. Certain antimicrobial peptides inhibited the growth of Enterococcus innesii, a dominant bacterial species in the gut of G. mellonella larvae. Our study highlights the importance of gut microbiota dynamics on metamorphosis as a consequence of the active secretion of antimicrobial peptides in the G. mellonella gut. IMPORTANCE First, we demonstrated that the presence of Enterococcus spp. is a driving force for insect metamorphosis. RNA sequencing and peptide production subsequently revealed that antimicrobial peptides targeted against microorganisms in the gut of Galleria mellonella (wax moth) did not kill Enterobacteria species, but did kill Enterococcus species, when the moth was at a certain stage of growth, and this promoted moth pupation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are chronic multifactorial diseases characterized by partially unclear pathogenic mechanisms including changes in intestinal microbiota. Despite the microbiota, alteration is well established in IBD patients, as reported by 16RNA sequencing analysis, an important goal is to define if it is just a consequence of the disease progression or a trigger factor of the disease itself. To date, gut microbiota composition and gut microbiota-related metabolites seem to affect the host healthy state both by modulating metabolic pathways or acting on the expression of different genes through epigenetic effects. Because of this, it has been suggested that intestinal microbiota might represent a promising therapeutic target for IBD patients. The aim of this review is to summarize both the most recent acquisitions in the field of gut microbiota and its involvement in intestinal inflammation together with the available strategies for the modulation of microbiota, such as prebiotics and/or probiotics administration or fecal microbiota transplantation., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)