Explore the vast range of titles available.

The maternal microbiome during pregnancy and the peripartum period plays a critical role in maternal health outcomes and establishing the neonatal gut microbiome, with long-term implications for offspring health. However, a healthy microbiome during these key periods has not been definitively characterized. This longitudinal study examines maternal and neonatal microbiomes using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in a Japanese cohort throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Forty-two mothers and their forty-five offspring participate in the study. The maternal vaginal microbiome remains relatively stable during pregnancy but significantly changes in the postpartum period. Among Lactobacillus species, the Lactobacillus crispatus group is predominant. A higher abundance of Lactobacillus early in pregnancy is associated with a favorable gestational period. The maternal gut microbiome is associated with the vaginal microbiome throughout pregnancy. The neonatal gut microbiome substantially changes in early life, with bacterial composition influenced by delivery mode. Over time, bacteria shared with the maternal gut microbiome become dominant in the neonatal gut. This study provides insights into microbiome dynamics in Japanese mothers and their offspring during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Identification of common patterns across diverse populations may help define keystone microbes essential for human health and inform the development of microbiome-based interventions. Here, in a longitudinal Japanese maternal-neonatal cohort, the authors characterize microbiome dynamics during pregnancy and the postpartum period, showing that early dominance of Lactobacillus crispatus in the vaginal microbiome is associated with favorable gestational outcomes.

Background Fecal biomarkers are considered to be useful surrogate markers for endoscopic activity. Given the mechanisms of fecal biomarkers, we hypothesized that the extent of ulcerative colitis (UC; pancolitis, left-sided colitis, and proctitis) could affect the usefulness of fecal biomarkers for assessing endoscopic and clinical disease activity; however, few studies have evaluated the utility of fecal biomarkers in the disease extent of UC. Methods Fecal calprotectin, a fecal immunochemical test for hemoglobin, and fecal lactoferrin were used as fecal biomarkers. UC patients, who underwent colonoscopy within 30 days of the fecal biomarker test, participated in this observational study. Clinical and endoscopic disease activity was assessed using the Lichtiger Index and Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES), respectively. Results A total of 162 colonoscopies were performed on 133 UC patients. A correlation analysis between each biomarker and the MES for each disease-extent subgroup showed a decreased correlation in the proctitis compared with the other groups. With the exception of proctitis, it was possible to distinguish between MES 0 and MES ≥ 1 with high area-under-the-curve values for fecal calprotectin and fecal lactoferrin. The fecal immunochemical test for hemoglobin was superior at discriminating MES 0 for proctitis. Conclusions For the practical application of fecal biomarkers for UC patients, it is necessary to consider disease extent before use. In particular, patients with proctitis exhibit a low correlation between stool biomarkers and endoscopic findings. The usefulness of these biomarkers for endoscopic remission is reduced, except for the fecal immunochemical test for hemoglobin.

Recent evidence indicates that liver cirrhosis (LC) is a reversible condition, but there is no established intervention against liver fibrosis. Although the gut microbiota is considered involved in the pathogenesis of LC, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Although the antibiotic, rifaximin (RFX), is effective for hepatic encephalopathy (HE) with LC, the impact of RFX on intestinal bacteria is unknown. We investigated the bacterial compositions along the GI tract under RFX treatment using a murine LC model. RFX improved liver fibrosis and hyperammonemia and altered the bacterial composition in the small intestine. The efficacy of RFX was associated with increases in specific bacterial genera, including Akkermansia. Administration of a commensal strain of Akkermansiamuciniphila improved liver fibrosis and hyperammonemia with changing bacterial composition in the small intestine. This study proposed a new concept “small intestine-liver axis” in the pathophysiology of LC and oral A. muciniphila administration is a promising microbial intervention.

Background The p53 protein overexpression that usually results from genetic alterations reportedly induces serum antibodies against p53. However, little information is available about the prognostic significance of perioperative serum p53 antibody (s-p53-Abs) titers in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the clinical significance of perioperative s-p53-Abs in 135 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Of these, 58 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy comprising 5-FU and CDDP. While the cutoff level at 1.3 U/ml indicated seropositive patients, level of 13.4 U/ml was used to identify high-titer patients. We monitored serum titers seropositive patients after surgery and evaluated the prognostic significance by the univariate and multivariate analyses. Results In this study, 29 patients (21.5%) were positive for s-p53-Abs before treatment. The frequency of both seropositive patients and high-titer patients (> 13.4 U/ml) was not significantly associated with tumor progression. While seropositive patients did not demonstrate significant poor overall survival, high-titer patients demonstrated significant poor overall survival based on the multivariate analysis ( P  < 0.001). Moreover, the s-p53-Abs titer did not correlate with the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Among seropositive patients, the negative conversion of s-p53-Abs more likely led to be long-term survival. Conclusions This study determined that the high-titer of s-p53-Abs was an independent risk factor to reduce the overall survival of patients with esophageal cancer patients. The negative conversion of s-p53-Abs could be a good indicator of favorable prognosis.