The scientific editors of Cell Host & Microbe, a Cell Press journal, bring you the latest information and insights from the forefront of host-microbe research.
Rethinking healthy eating in light of gut microbiome: This review examines how diet-
#microbiome
-host interactions can validate, refine & innovate
#dietary
guidelines. Integration of microbiome science into
#nutrition
research will improve healthy eating
Gut microbiome lipid metabolism and its impact on host physiology. Featured Review from
@ericmichbrown
Clardy
@HMS_BCMP
@TheXavierLab
examining # lipids that
#microbiome
species can synthesize and their function on host physiology
Infection and Rapid Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Ferrets: New work shows that ferrets are highly susceptible to
#SARSCoV2
infection and effectively transmit the
#virus
by direct or indirect contact, recapitulating human
#infection
and transmission
Type I & III Interferons –Induction, Signaling, Evasion, &Application to Combat COVID-19: Park&
@VirusesImmunity
review protective vs.pathogenic roles IFNs in
#coronavirus
infections & discuss prophylactic/therapeutic potential of
#interferons
for
#COVID19
An infectious cDNA clone of SARS-CoV-2:
@TheMenacheryLab
Shi lab
@utmbhealth
&Co generated an infectious cDNA clone of
#SARSCoV2
& mNeonGreen reporter virus. Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 and reporter virus replicate as efficiently as original clinical isolate
Innate Immune Responses to Human Gut
#Microbiota
from Phylum to Strain:
@MatthewSpindl13
@jeremiahfaith1
examine how innate immune system responds to 277 human gut commensal
#bacterial
strains. Taxa induce signatures w/predictable immune phenotypes in mice
#Microbiota
modulation of intestinal epithelial homeostasis.
@theGarrettLab
show F. rodentium promotes epithelial proliferation & turnover by dampening retinoic acid production that supports survival of eosinophils, which suppress pro-proliferative IFNγ
Horizontal gene transfer among host-associated microbes.
@doctor_jams
@MartaLourenco21
@gordoisabel1
review studies on mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer & complex interactions that these may entail in driving eco-evolutionary dynamics of
#microbiomes
Vaginal microbiota transfer to cesarean-born infants. In a triple-blind randomized controlled trial, new work shows that VMT is likely safe and may partially normalize neurodevelopment and the fecal
#microbiome
in
#cesarean
-born infants
In honor of our 15 years, we bring you an Anniversary Special Review issue on Maternal-Infant Health. As we “come of age” to our teens, we take a look back at the importance of early-life.
Microbial seeding in early life.
@DrSuchiHourigan
&Dominguez-Bello highlight
@DebbyBogaert
work unraveling mother-infant microbial seeding by examining multiple maternal-infant niches. “Auxiliary” pathways may compensate when seeding patterns are perturbed
Cytosolic replication in epithelial cells fuels
#Salmonella
: Using genetic engineering to deplete cytosolic bacteria from enterocytes, new work shows intracytosolic replication feeds expansion of intestinal
#STyphimurium
needed for efficient shedding
Dynamic immune response shapes
#COVID19
progression: Daily transcriptomics of whole blood from
#SARSCoV2
patients reveals early
#immune
response is highly dynamic. Aside from IL-1, peak cytokine expression occurs after lowest point in respiratory function
ROS gives E. coli a boost:
@Winter_lab
reveals that reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by intestinal epithelium promote outgrowth of
#Ecoli
. Detoxification of inflammatory ROS through AppBCX allows E. coli to respire in otherwise anaerobic environment
Infant gut phageome.
@ClareLou9
@BanfieldLab
characterize preterm & full-term infant gut phageome succession during first 3 yrs. 9% of
#phage
strains establish long-term residency. Stop codon reassignment&tail fiber mutations may aid viral gut colonization
Adaptation of intestinal
#microbes
to immune activation:
#Immune
system activation rapidly alters gene transcription in intestinal symbiotic
#bacteria
, w/minimal effects on
#microbiota
composition but notably effects on metabolome & SCFA production
Long-term evolution/short-term adaptation of microbiota: 6-year exp in mice stably colonized shows how strains/sub-strains evolve.
#Microbiota
adaptation occurs via long-term +selection of variants & short-term changes in transcriptomes&substrain frequency
Gut microbiota-derived bile acids. This review examines mechanistic links between
#gut
#microbiota
-derived
#bileacids
& host
#immunity
, intestinal inflammation &
#tumorigenesis
. Bile-acid-related human omics data are summarized & therapeutics are discussed
Eating our way to gut
#microbiome
characterization. Highlight of
@Nature
paper from Huang & Relman
@Stanford
introducing ingestible device capable of collecting in situ samples across regions of human intestine for multi-omics analysis
EECs relay signals from gut microbes:
@RawlsLab
@ye_lihua
find that
#gut
#bacteria
produce tryptophan catabolites that activate Trpa1 channels on enteroendocrine cells, causing rapid activation of enteric & vagal
#neurons
Why does
#influenza
vaccination elicit poor efficacy in elderly individuals? New work reveals that elderly adults have reduced accumulation of de novo immunoglobulin gene somatic mutations & are unable to adapt
#antibody
responses upon
#flu
#vaccination
i-ROBOT, an intelligent probiotic. New work presents i-ROBOT, a
#probiotic
for diagnosis & amelioration of
#InflammatoryBowelDisease
. i-ROBOT noninvasively records disease information & uses self-regulated drug release responsive to inflammation in mice
IFN therapy for COVID-19: In retrospective study of
#COVID19
patients, early administration of interferon-α2b was associated w/reduced mortality-but late
#interferon
therapy increased mortality&delayed recovery, suggesting IFN timing is crucial.
#SARSCoV2
Phage-Bacteria Associations: Analyze. Match. Develop Therapies:
@Naama_GZ
& Co examine recent works that combined metagenomic analysis & experiments to study
#phage
-
#bacteria
associations in order to develop future research tools and therapies
Impact of natural microbes on immune system maturation:
@CadwellLab
@LokePng
&Graham lab release mice into a wild enclosure & find that increases in circulating granulocytes are associated w/ altered
#microbiota
, notably expansion of
#fungi
.
Unearthing Ancient Origins of Antiviral Immunity: Can microbes provide clues about origin of
#pathogen
defenses?
@bioBarber
&Baker discuss
@SorekLab
findings that mammalian
#antiviral
protein viperin is more ancient & conserved than previously appreciated
Snatching the Crown from SARS-CoV-2:
@Virusnerdette
examines works describing pseudotyping of VSV w/
#SARSCoV2
spike, which allows virus neutralization assays at BSL-2 and is a candidate vectored
#vaccine
to elicit protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2
Intestinal mucus & their glycans: A habitat for thriving
#microbiota
.
@AnaSofLuis
& Hansson
@goteborgsuni
review how commensal
#bacteria
can be selected by & utilize complex O-glycans of colonic mucins--while being kept at distance by inner mucus layer
Featured Article: Mother-to-infant microbiota transmission & infant microbiota development across body sites. Maternal contributions to infant
#microbiota
differ by niche, w/main role for
#breastmilk
microbiota.
@DebbyBogaert
Mapping SARS-CoV-2 escape:
@jbloom_lab
& Crowe lab develop method to map all
#SARSCoV2
RBD mutations that escape
#antibody
binding. Applying method to Abs yields maps predicting mutations that arise when
#virus
is grown w/Ab
Alveolar epithelium, a central hub in
#antibacterial
defense:
@SunnyShinLab
show that
#Legionella
-infected alveolar
#macrophages
induce alveolar epithelium to produce GM-CSF, which reprograms monocytes, amplifying inflammatory responses&promoting defense
#Fungi
linked to
#IBD
: New work shows that the common commensal skin yeast, Malassezia, is associated with
#CrohnsDisease
and exacerbates
#Colitis
in mouse models through mechanisms requiring CARD9
ROS gives E. coli a boost:
@Winter_lab
reveals that reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by intestinal epithelium promote outgrowth of
#Ecoli
. Detoxification of inflammatory ROS through AppBCX allows E. coli to respire in otherwise anaerobic environment
Phage satellites ride on coat-“tails”.
#Phage
satellite family encodes all proteins to produce capsids-where satellite genomes are exclusively packaged-& only parasitizes phage tails to produce particles
@Alqurainyn
Miguel-Romero
@AlfredFillol
@jrpenades
Bacteroides PULs determine fitness & function:
@oventurelli2
& Co show Polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) in
#Bacteroides
uniformis provide fitness advantage/disadvantage in gut
#microbiota
that depends on nutrient availability
Infant gut resistome: Analysis of
#antibiotic
resistance gene (ARG) distribution in
#infant
gut shows E.coli is ARG reservoir. Infant gut resistome associated w/environmental factors,
#gut
#microbiome
maturation&
#bacteria
associated w/
#asthma
development
Bacteria induce skin regeneration: New work finds that
#skin
#bacteria
induce IL-1β signaling and activate keratinocytes via a pathway requiring IL1R/Myd88 to stimulate hair follicle regeneration and wound healing
Microbiome Enterosignatures:
@c_frioux
@Falk_tw
introduce enterosignatures as microbial guilds whose assemblies are accurate descriptors of human gut
#microbiome
composition. Enterosignature composition is dynamic & changes over lifetime
Sensing a pattern:
@kvnforsberg
discusses work of
@zhangf
@ScienceMagazine
showing pattern-recognition receptors found in eukaryotes are also in bacteria.
#Bacteria
use similar receptors to detect conserved
#phage
proteins & activate analogous immunity
AMPing up inflammation.
@CadwellLab
shows
#antimicrobial
REG3 proteins overproduced in IBD perpetuate inflammation by depleting E. faecium from
#microbiota
. Enterococcus DL-endopeptidase SagA activates NOD2 to produce IL-1β, which induces protective IL-22
IFN therapy for COVID-19: In retrospective study of
#COVID19
patients, early administration of interferon-α2b was associated w/reduced mortality-but late
#interferon
therapy increased mortality&delayed recovery, suggesting IFN timing is crucial.
#SARSCoV2
Small RNAs direct attack & defense. VP882 phage activation promotes sRNA base pairing w/V.cholerae or phage transcripts via Hfq. Phage&host-encoded sRNAs regulate expression @ post-transcriptional level to enhance or inhibit phage replication
@papenfortlab
Virome in IBD:
@adamclooney
, T Sutton
@colinhillucc
&Co examine changes in human gut
#virome
by analyzing known & unknown viral sequences; they provide evidence that healthy core of virulent bacteriophage is replaced by temperate
#bacteriophage
in
#IBD
The Social Network of Microbes. Our April Special Issue is now live! Find reviews and perspectives on the communication patterns and social lives of
#microbes
Bacterial molecular syringe for drug delivery. Lu & Cai highlight work of
@kreitz_joseph
@zhangf
@Nature
reporting syringe-like protein delivery vector engineered from natural endosymbiotic
#bacteria
for potential therapeutic & human use.
Infection leaves a mark on
#microbiome
.
@Goodman_lab
show
#gut
commensals can respond to transient infection through mutation & selection. Infection-induced selective sweeps replace existing
#commensal
populations w/inflammation-adapted variants
Deciphering the quorum-sensing lexicon of the gut microbiota.
@KarinaXavierLab
@Rita_A_Oliveira
review approaches to decipher chemical signals exchanged among intestinal
#bacteria
& unravel mechanisms driving establishment & resilience of gut
#microbiota
#Microbiota
modulation of intestinal epithelial homeostasis.
@theGarrettLab
show F. rodentium promotes epithelial proliferation & turnover by dampening retinoic acid production that supports survival of eosinophils, which suppress pro-proliferative IFNγ
Prevotella takes on the competition:
@EricJCGalvez
&Co identify Prevotella species in mouse
#gut
& examine how dominant species outcompete
#commensal
#bacteria
, including other Prevotella, via specific polysaccharide utilization loci
Its new issue day at Cell Host & Microbe! Our September cover features precision
#microbiome
engineering when HMO-fed B. infantis (microbial “seeds”) are introduced into adult, antibiotic-perturbed gut microbiomes
The vagina question: Can maternal vaginal fluid impact infant gut microbiome & neurodevelopment? Jaspan, Happel&
@bostonvaginadoc
discuss report that vaginal microbial transfer from mom to infant postdelivery may alter infant microbiota & neurodevelopment
The skin
#microbiota
: Balancing risk/reward
@elizgrice
&
@LFlowers_A
discuss rewards of hosting microbial ecosystem on
#skin
, including protection from
#pathogens
& tuning of microenvironment. Conversely, skin residents can cause damage & promote disease
The social life of phages: New work in this issue uncovers widespread utilization of peptide communication in
#phages
infecting soil and pathogenic
#bacteria
.
@AAvihail
, Nitzan Tal,
@SorekLab
Success of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines & challenges ahead: In light of effective
#SARSCoV2
#vaccines
, this review examines a selection of issues related to the evolving story, including challenges ahead as virus circulates & vaccines are rolled out globally