Search

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic metabolic disorder with a heterogeneous etiology encompassing societal and behavioral risk factors in addition to genetic and environmental susceptibility. The cardiovascular consequences of diabetes account for more than two-thirds of mortality among people with T2D. Not only does T2D shorten life expectancy, but it also lowers quality of life and is associated with extremely high health expenditures since diabetic complications raise both direct and indirect healthcare costs. An increasing body of research indicates a connection between T2D and gut microbial traits, as numerous alterations in the intestinal microorganisms have been noted in pre-diabetic and diabetic individuals. These include pro-inflammatory bacterial patterns, increased intestinal permeability, endotoxemia, and hyperglycemia-favoring conditions, such as the alteration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion. Restoring microbial homeostasis can be very beneficial for preventing and co-treating T2D and improving antidiabetic therapy outcomes. This review summarizes the characteristics of a "diabetic" microbiota and the metabolites produced by microbial species that can worsen or ameliorate T2D risk and progression, suggesting gut microbiota-targeted strategies to restore eubiosis and regulate blood glucose. Nutritional supplementation, diet, and physical exercise are known to play important roles in T2D, and here their effects on the gut microbiota are discussed, suggesting non-pharmacological approaches that can greatly help in diabetes management and highlighting the importance of tailoring treatments to individual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 12-week homebased lifestyle intervention (based on nutrition and exercise) on gut microbial composition in twenty BC survivors of the MoviS clinical trial (protocol: NCT 04818359). Methods: Gut microbiota analysis through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, anthropometrics, Mediterranean Diet (MD) adherence, and cardiometabolic parameters were evaluated before (Pre) and after (Post) the lifestyle intervention (LI). Results: Beneficial effects of the LI were observed on MD adherence, and cardiometabolic parameters (pre vs post). A robust reduction of Proteobacteria was observed after LI, which is able to reshape the gut microbiota by modulating microorganisms capable of decreasing inflammation and others involved in improving the lipid and glycemic assets of the host. A significant negative correlation between fasting glucose and Clostridia_vadinBB60 (r = -0.62), insulin and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) index and Butyricicoccus genera (r = -0.72 and -0.66, respectively), and HDL cholesterol and Escherichia/Shigella (r = -0.59) have been reported. Moreover, positive correlations were found between MD adherence and Lachnospiraceae_ND3007 (r = 0.50), Faecalibacterium (r = 0.38) and Butyricimonas (r = 0.39). Conclusion: These data suggest that adopting a healthy lifestyle, may contribute to ameliorate several biological parameters that could be involved in the prevention of cancer relapses through the modulation of gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the improvement in health and social conditions has led to an increase in the average lifespan. Since aging is the most important risk factor for the majority of chronic human diseases, the development of therapies and intervention to stop, lessen or even reverse various age-related morbidities is an important target to ameliorate the quality of life of the elderly. The gut microbiota, that is, the complex ecosystem of microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tract, plays an important role, not yet fully understood, in maintaining the host's health and homeostasis, influencing metabolic, oxidative and cognitive status; for this reason, it is also named "the forgotten endocrine organ" or "the second brain". On the other hand, the gut microbiota diversity and richness are affected by unmodifiable factors, such as aging and sex, and modifiable ones, such as diet, pharmacological therapies and lifestyle. In this review, we discuss the changes, mostly disadvantageous, for human health, induced by aging, in microbiota composition and the effects of dietary intervention, of supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, psychobiotics and antioxidants and of physical exercise. The development of an integrated strategy to implement microbiota health will help in the goal of healthy aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Human gut is colonized by a wide variety of microorganisms, which collectively form the so-called microbiota. A healthy microbiota interacts with our organism as a symbiont positively participating in the regulation of many physiological activities of the host, detoxification of xenobiotics, and prevention of the development of specific pathologies. However, various conditions may change the status of microbiota from "healthy" to "unhealthy"; an unhealthy status may negatively impact the host health contributing to the onset of maladies. Cancer is among those that microbiota can prevent or promote according to its conditions. The knowledge of the situations and of the mechanisms underlying this bifaceted role of microbiota is of great importance in cancer prevention, epidemiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. Here we will illustrate and discuss how and when microbiota interferes with development and progression of human cancer, with a particular emphasis on colorectal cancer. Human gut microbiota physiologically and actively participates as a symbiont to a wide number of fundamental biological processes, such as absorption and metabolism of nutrients, regulation of immune response and inflammation; gut microbiota plays also an antitumor role. However, dysbiosis, resulting from a number of different situations—dysmicrobism, infections, drug intake, age, diet—as well as from their multiple combinations, may lead to tumorigenesis and is associated with approximately 20% of all cancers. In a diagnostic, prognostic, therapeutic, and epidemiological perspective, it is clear that the bifaceted role of microbiota needs to be thoroughly studied and better understood. Here, we discuss the anti- and pro-tumorigenic potential of gut and other microbiota districts along with the causes that may change commensal bacteria from friend to foes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the first documentation of a bacterium associated with a mycorrhizal fungus. The bacterium is in association with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tuber borchii Vittad and belongs to the Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group as determined by 16S rRNA gene sequence.