Therapeutic applications of the microbiome Aidan Antonelli Dr. Neal Connors

The microbiome “Resident bacteria outnumber human somatic and germ cells tenfold and represent a combined microbial genome well in excess of the human genome” (Shannahan, 2002) “[bacterial composition] in the large intestine rises to an estimated 1011– 1012 bacteria per gram of colonic content” “Enteric bacteria form a natural defence barrier and exert numerous protective, structural and metabolic effects on the epithelium” Women have lower levels of bacillus in the vagina after giving birth, making them more susceptible to streptococci infections, among others

Integral microrganisms Streptococcus Enterobacteria Bifidobacteria Lactobacilli Prevotella Megasphaera

Host-Flora Communication Using enterocytes on the surface of the mucosal layer, bacteria are able to communicate with the host by using themselves as samples for intestinal dendritic cells

Viruses and the microbiome Hepatitis B clearance linked to gastrointestinal flora cultures Respiratory viruses increase in lethality with boosted presence of certain bacteria unrelated to the infection Bacteriophages bind specifically to certain bacteria, sometimes make those bacteria pathogenic. Vibrio cholerae and the CTX toxin

Vectors Delivery system of viral DNA/RNA into host cell. Could we inoculate bacteria using viral vectors making our microbiome stronger?

RELEVANT CONDITIONS Ulcerative Colitis IBD/IBS Crohn’s Disease Diverticulitis Asthma STD’s COPD Pulmonary Fibrosis

My research How does the body distinguish between harmful and benign bacteria? If altering levels of certain strains of bacteria causes susceptibility to certain pathogens, could boosting certain strains cause the opposite? Therapeutics for diseases Antivirals “Mucosal microbiome manipulation in both the sinus and gastrointestinal niches may represent a novel therapeutic approach for prevention, treatment, or management of acute respiratory infection, or indeed chronic pulmonary disease.”

Sources http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/virus.html https://secretsofinferno.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/cells.png http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio106/viruses.htm Shanahan F. Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2002 Dec; 16(6):915-31.  http://genome.wustl.edu/projects/detail/human-microbiome-project/