Neurological and cognitive significance of probiotics: a holy grail deciding individual personality

Antibiotic resistance and preventive strategies in foodborne pathogenic bacteria: a comprehensive review

Antibiotic resistance in foodborne bacteria poses a substantial global health challenge. Reports indicate that antibiotic overuse in middle-class and low-income countries is a significant factor in the ever-increasing resistance. Resistance mechanisms have developed through enzymatic hydrolysis, reduced membrane permeability, efflux pumps, and target site mutations. Preventive measures like proper hygiene and safe food preparation, vaccination, antibiotic stewardship and surveillance, implementing infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, good agricultural practices, and investigating novel approaches like CRISPR, NGS, nanotechnology, and bacteriophages may be employed to address this challenge. Naturally occurring preservatives (e.g., nisin) are alternatives to antibiotics for food preservation. Prebiotics, probiotics, nanobiotics, phage treatment, and antimicrobial peptides are also substitutes for antibiotics. Furthermore, plant-derived compounds, such as essential oils and plant extracts, are promising substitutes for antibiotics in animal production. This review focuses on the mechanisms of underlying antibiotic resistance in foodborne pathogens, necessary preventive measures, and the challenges associated.

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Personality and Psychoneuroimmunology: A Systems Biology Perspective

Research in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) underscores the intricate connections within the "whole mind-body system." Personality plays a pivotal role, with specific traits linked to stress influencing neural behavior and psychophysiological disorders. Gene expression networks associated with personality affect neuronal plasticity, epigenetic processes, and adaptive behaviors, highlighting the importance of systems biology mechanisms. Systemic inflammation correlates with key personality traits. Understanding the roles of inflammatory and oxidative biomarkers in personality traits and disorders can help identify diagnostic and therapeutic targets for various diseases. Neurobiological features contribute to our understanding of personality disorders and related conditions. Personality traits are linked to distributed neuroendocrine networks, particularly the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, rather than localized brain areas. Correlations have also been identified between personality traits and thyroid hormones. Disrupted hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis functions may be associated with disease severity, depression, and distress, highlighting the need for comprehensive endocrinological and psychopathological evaluations. The gut-brain axis influences personality traits, emotions, stress, and social behaviors. Altered gut microbiota is common in psychiatric conditions, suggesting potential treatments targeting the microbiota. Chronic stress impacts cognitive functions and correlates with personality and mental health, emphasizing the need for comprehensive, multi-dimensional patient profiles for effective prevention and therapy. A biopsychosocial model integrating personality traits will advance personalized and systems medicine.

The gut microbiome and the brain

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The importance of the gut microbiome for human health and well-being is generally accepted, and elucidating the signaling pathways between the gut microbiome and the host offers novel mechanistic insight into the (patho)physiology and multifaceted aspects of healthy aging and human brain functions.

RECENT FINDINGS

The gut microbiome is tightly linked with the nervous system, and gut microbiota are increasingly emerging as important regulators of emotional and cognitive performance. They send and receive signals for the bidirectional communication between gut and brain via immunological, neuroanatomical, and humoral pathways. The composition of the gut microbiota and the spectrum of metabolites and neurotransmitters that they release changes with increasing age, nutrition, hypoxia, and other pathological conditions. Changes in gut microbiota (dysbiosis) are associated with critical illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular, and chronic kidney disease but also neurological, mental, and pain disorders, as well as chemotherapies and antibiotics affecting brain development and function.

SUMMARY

Dysbiosis and a concomitant imbalance of mediators are increasingly emerging both as causes and consequences of diseases affecting the brain. Understanding the microbiota's role in the pathogenesis of these disorders will have major clinical implications and offer new opportunities for therapeutic interventions.

Probiotics and the microbiota-gut-brain axis in neurodegeneration: Beneficial effects and mechanistic insights

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a group of heterogeneous disorders with a high socioeconomic burden. Although pharmacotherapy is currently the principal therapeutic approach for the management of NDs, mounting evidence supports the notion that the protracted application of available drugs would abate their dopaminergic outcomes in the long run. The therapeutic application of microbiome-based modalities has received escalating attention in biomedical works. In-depth investigations of the bidirectional communication between the microbiome in the gut and the brain offer a multitude of targets for the treatment of NDs or maximizing the patient's quality of life. Probiotic administration is a well-known microbial-oriented approach to modulate the gut microbiota and potentially influence the process of neurodegeneration. Of note, there is a strong need for further investigation to map out the mechanistic prospects for the gut-brain axis and the clinical efficacy of probiotics. In this review, we discuss the importance of microbiome modulation and hemostasis via probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics and synbiotics in ameliorating pathological neurodegenerative events. Also, we meticulously describe the underlying mechanism of action of probiotics and their metabolites on the gut-brain axis in different NDs. We suppose that the present work will provide a functional direction for the use of probiotic-based modalities in promoting current practical treatments for the management of neurodegenerative-related diseases.

In vitro assessment of probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria isolated from camel milk: enhancing sustainable foods

Probiotic properties of isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from sustainable foods including camel milk are the potential research domains. For this purpose, camel milk samples (n = 20), from four different herds of Camelus dromedarius, were processed for the identification of LAB strains based on biochemical profiles followed by amplification and sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. The probiotic characteristics, i.e., acids and bile salts tolerance, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, hemolytic and antimicrobial activities, auto-aggregation assay, and adhesion to HT-29 epithelial cells were determined. Thirteen out of 20 milk samples were initially found positive for the growth of probiotics or LAB which were further confirmed as Lacticaseibacillus casei (5) and Pediococcus pentosaceus (3). The probiotics/LAB strains showed maximum survival (%) = 92.06 ± 1.82 and 81.35 ± 3.64 against acids and bile salts, respectively. The LAB strains were found sensitive to amoxicillin, ceftazidime, imipenem, linezolid, ofloxacin, tetracycline, tobramycin, and vancomycin. None of the LAB strains showed hemolytic activity. L. casei-04 strain showed a maximum zone of inhibition (15.33 ± 0.58) against multidrug-resistant E. coli AZ1 strain whereas, L. casei-05 showed a maximum zone of inhibition (16.33 ± 1.15) against methicillin-resistant S. aureus Saba-1 strain. L. casei-03 showed maximum percentage auto-aggregation (28.65 ± 1.96) at 4 h while L. casei-01 showed (41.10 ± 3.03) at 24 h of incubation. Maximum adhesion was shown by P. pentosaceus-01 (11.14%) followed by L. casei-02 (9.73%). Altogether, the current findings suggested that camel milk has significant potential of providing probiotics/LAB strains into human food chain and enabling camel milk as potential sustainable food.

The importance of the gut microbiome and its signals for a healthy nervous system and the multifaceted mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders

Increasing evidence links the gut microbiome and the nervous system in health and disease. This narrative review discusses current views on the interaction between the gut microbiota, the intestinal epithelium, and the brain, and provides an overview of the communication routes and signals of the bidirectional interactions between gut microbiota and the brain, including circulatory, immunological, neuroanatomical, and neuroendocrine pathways. Similarities and differences in healthy gut microbiota in humans and mice exist that are relevant for the translational gap between non-human model systems and patients. There is an increasing spectrum of metabolites and neurotransmitters that are released and/or modulated by the gut microbiota in both homeostatic and pathological conditions. Dysbiotic disruptions occur as consequences of critical illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease but also neurological, mental, and pain disorders, as well as ischemic and traumatic brain injury. Changes in the gut microbiota (dysbiosis) and a concomitant imbalance in the release of mediators may be cause or consequence of diseases of the central nervous system and are increasingly emerging as critical links to the disruption of healthy physiological function, alterations in nutrition intake, exposure to hypoxic conditions and others, observed in brain disorders. Despite the generally accepted importance of the gut microbiome, the bidirectional communication routes between brain and gut are not fully understood. Elucidating these routes and signaling pathways in more detail offers novel mechanistic insight into the pathophysiology and multifaceted aspects of brain disorders.

Mapping trends and hotspot regarding gastrointestinal microbiome and neuroscience: A bibliometric analysis of global research (2002-2022)

BACKGROUND

Scholars have long understood that gastrointestinal microorganisms are intimately related to human disorders. The literature on research involving the gut microbiome and neuroscience is emerging. This study exposed the connections between gut microbiota and neuroscience methodically and intuitively using bibliometrics and visualization. This study's objectives were to summarize the knowledge structure and identify emerging trends and potential hotspots in this field.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

On October 18, 2022, a literature search was conducted utilizing the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database for studies on gut microbiota and neuroscience studies from 2002 to 2022 (August 20, 2022). VOSviewer and CiteSpace V software was used to conduct the bibliometrics and visualization analysis.

RESULTS

From 2002 to 2022 (August 20, 2022), 2,275 publications in the WoSCC database satisfied the criteria. The annual volume of publications has rapidly emerged in recent years (2016-2022). The most productive nation (n = 732, 32.18%) and the hub of inter-country cooperation (links: 38) were the United States. University College Cork had the most research papers published in this area, followed by McMaster University and Harvard Medical School. Cryan JF, Dinan TG, and Clarke G were key researchers with considerable academic influence. The journals with the most publications are "Neurogastroenterology and Motility" and "Brain Behavior and Immunity." The most cited article and co-cited reference was Cryan JF's 2012 article on the impact of gut microbiota on the brain and behavior. The current research hotspot includes gastrointestinal microbiome, inflammation, gut-brain axis, Parkinson's disease (PD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). The research focus would be on the "gastrointestinal microbiome, inflammation: a link between obesity, insulin resistance, and cognition" and "the role of two important theories of the gut-brain axis and microbial-gut-brain axis in diseases." Burst detection analysis showed that schizophrenia, pathology, and psychiatric disorder may continue to be the research frontiers.

CONCLUSION

Research on "gastrointestinal microbiome, inflammation: a link between obesity, insulin resistance, and cognition" and "the role of two important theories of the gut-brain axis and microbial-gut-brain axis in diseases" will continue to be the hotspot. Schizophrenia and psychiatric disorder will be the key research diseases in the field of gut microbiota and neuroscience, and pathology is the key research content, which is worthy of scholars' attention.

Personalized nutrition, microbiota, and metabolism: A triad for eudaimonia

During the previous few years, the relationship between the gut microbiota, metabolic disorders, and diet has come to light, especially due to the understanding of the mechanisms that particularly link the gut microbiota with obesity in animal models and clinical trials. Research has led to the understanding that the responses of individuals to dietary inputs vary remarkably therefore no single diet can be suggested to every individual. The variations are attributed to differences in the microbiome and host characteristics. In general, it is believed that the immanent nature of host-derived factors makes them difficult to modulate. However, diet can more easily shape the microbiome, potentially influencing human physiology through modulation of digestion, absorption, mucosal immune response, and the availability of bioactive compounds. Thus, diet could be useful to influence the physiology of the host, as well as to ameliorate various disorders. In the present study, we have described recent developments in understanding the disparities of gut microbiota populations between individuals and the primary role of diet-microbiota interactions in modulating human physiology. A deeper understanding of these relationships can be useful for proposing personalized nutrition strategies and nutrition-based therapeutic interventions to improve human health.

Varied Composition and Underlying Mechanisms of Gut Microbiome in Neuroinflammation

The human gut microbiome has been implicated in a host of bodily functions and their regulation, including brain development and cognition. Neuroinflammation is a relatively newer piece of the puzzle and is implicated in the pathogenesis of many neurological disorders. The microbiome of the gut may alter the inflammatory signaling inside the brain through the secretion of short-chain fatty acids, controlling the availability of amino acid tryptophan and altering vagal activation. Studies in Korea and elsewhere highlight a strong link between microbiome dynamics and neurocognitive states, including personality. For these reasons, re-establishing microbial flora of the gut looks critical for keeping neuroinflammation from putting the whole system aflame through probiotics and allotransplantation of the fecal microbiome. However, the numerosity of the microbiome remains a challenge. For this purpose, it is suggested that wherever possible, a fecal microbial auto-transplant may prove more effective. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the role of the microbiome in neuroinflammation and the various mechanism involved in this process. As an example, we have also discussed the autism spectrum disorder and the implication of neuroinflammation and microbiome in its pathogenesis.

Microbiota and cancer: current understanding and mechanistic implications

During last few decades, role of microbiota and its importance in several diseases has been a hot topic for research. The microbiota is considered as an accessory organ for maintaining normal physiology of an individual. These microbiota organisms which normally colonize several epithelial surfaces are known to secrete several small molecules leading to local and systemic effects on normal biological processes. The role of microbiota is also established in carcinogenesis as per several recent findings. The effects of microbiota on cancer is not only limited to their contribution in oncogenesis, but the overall susceptibility for oncogenesis and its subsequent progression, development of coinfections, and response to anticancer therapy is also found to be affected by microbiota. The information about microbiota and subsequent contributions of microbes in anticancer response motivated researchers in development of microbes-based anticancer therapeutics. We provided current status of microbiota contribution in oncogenesis with special reference to their mechanistic implications in different aspects of oncogenesis. In addition, the mechanistic implications of bacteria in anticancer therapy are also discussed. We conclude that several mechanisms of microbiota-mediated regulation of oncogenesis is known, but approaches must be focused on understanding contribution of microbiota as a community rather than single organisms-mediated effects.