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Chronic Trichuris muris Infection Decreases Diversity of the Intestinal Microbiota and Concomitantly Increases the Abundance of Lactobacilli.

Holm, Jacob Bak ; Sorobetea, Daniel LU ; Kiilerich, Pia ; Ramayo-Caldas, Yuliaxis ; Estellé, Jordi ; Ma, Tao ; Madsen, Lise ; Kristiansen, Karsten and Svensson Frej, Marcus LU (2015) In PLoS ONE 10(5).
Abstract
The intestinal microbiota is vital for shaping the local intestinal environment as well as host immunity and metabolism. At the same time, epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest an important role for parasitic worm infections in maintaining the inflammatory and regulatory balance of the immune system. In line with this, the prevalence of persistent worm infections is inversely correlated with the incidence of immune-associated diseases, prompting the use of controlled parasite infections for therapeutic purposes. Despite this, the impact of parasite infection on the intestinal microbiota, as well as potential downstream effects on the immune system, remain largely unknown. We have assessed the influence of chronic infection with... (More)
The intestinal microbiota is vital for shaping the local intestinal environment as well as host immunity and metabolism. At the same time, epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest an important role for parasitic worm infections in maintaining the inflammatory and regulatory balance of the immune system. In line with this, the prevalence of persistent worm infections is inversely correlated with the incidence of immune-associated diseases, prompting the use of controlled parasite infections for therapeutic purposes. Despite this, the impact of parasite infection on the intestinal microbiota, as well as potential downstream effects on the immune system, remain largely unknown. We have assessed the influence of chronic infection with the large-intestinal nematode Trichuris muris, a close relative of the human pathogen Trichuris trichiura, on the composition of the murine intestinal microbiota by 16S ribosomal-RNA gene-based sequencing. Our results demonstrate that persistent T. muris infection dramatically affects the large-intestinal microbiota, most notably with a drop in the diversity of bacterial communities, as well as a marked increase in the relative abundance of the Lactobacillus genus. In parallel, chronic T. muris infection resulted in a significant shift in the balance between regulatory and inflammatory T cells in the intestinal adaptive immune system, in favour of inflammatory cells. Together, these data demonstrate that chronic parasite infection strongly influences the intestinal microbiota and the adaptive immune system. Our results illustrate the complex interactions between these factors in the intestinal tract, and contribute to furthering the understanding of this interplay, which is of crucial importance considering that 500 million people globally are suffering from these infections and their potential use for therapeutic purposes. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
PLoS ONE
volume
10
issue
5
article number
e0125495
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:25942314
  • wos:000353943400039
  • scopus:84929121378
  • pmid:25942314
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0125495
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
473d822c-bb67-4d38-8adb-54fc409f4728 (old id 5456965)
alternative location
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25942314?dopt=Abstract
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:25:01
date last changed
2022-04-22 03:07:50
@article{473d822c-bb67-4d38-8adb-54fc409f4728,
  abstract     = {{The intestinal microbiota is vital for shaping the local intestinal environment as well as host immunity and metabolism. At the same time, epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest an important role for parasitic worm infections in maintaining the inflammatory and regulatory balance of the immune system. In line with this, the prevalence of persistent worm infections is inversely correlated with the incidence of immune-associated diseases, prompting the use of controlled parasite infections for therapeutic purposes. Despite this, the impact of parasite infection on the intestinal microbiota, as well as potential downstream effects on the immune system, remain largely unknown. We have assessed the influence of chronic infection with the large-intestinal nematode Trichuris muris, a close relative of the human pathogen Trichuris trichiura, on the composition of the murine intestinal microbiota by 16S ribosomal-RNA gene-based sequencing. Our results demonstrate that persistent T. muris infection dramatically affects the large-intestinal microbiota, most notably with a drop in the diversity of bacterial communities, as well as a marked increase in the relative abundance of the Lactobacillus genus. In parallel, chronic T. muris infection resulted in a significant shift in the balance between regulatory and inflammatory T cells in the intestinal adaptive immune system, in favour of inflammatory cells. Together, these data demonstrate that chronic parasite infection strongly influences the intestinal microbiota and the adaptive immune system. Our results illustrate the complex interactions between these factors in the intestinal tract, and contribute to furthering the understanding of this interplay, which is of crucial importance considering that 500 million people globally are suffering from these infections and their potential use for therapeutic purposes.}},
  author       = {{Holm, Jacob Bak and Sorobetea, Daniel and Kiilerich, Pia and Ramayo-Caldas, Yuliaxis and Estellé, Jordi and Ma, Tao and Madsen, Lise and Kristiansen, Karsten and Svensson Frej, Marcus}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Chronic Trichuris muris Infection Decreases Diversity of the Intestinal Microbiota and Concomitantly Increases the Abundance of Lactobacilli.}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3963971/8410381.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0125495}},
  volume       = {{10}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}