Network analysis of toxin production in Clostridioides difficile identifies key metabolic dependencies
PLoS Comput Biol. 2023 Apr 26;19(4):e1011076. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011076. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis is mediated through its two toxin proteins, TcdA and TcdB, which induce intestinal epithelial cell death and inflammation. It is possible to alter C. difficile toxin production by changing various metabolite concentrations within the extracellular environment. However, it is […]
Read MoreMetabolic modeling of sex-specific tissue predicts mechanisms of differences in toxicological responses
bioRxiv. 2023 Feb 7:2023.02.07.527430. doi: 10.1101/2023.02.07.527430. Preprint. ABSTRACT Male subjects in animal and human studies are disproportionately used for toxicological testing. This discrepancy is evidenced in clinical medicine where females are more likely than males to experience liver-related adverse events in response to xenobiotics. While previous work has shown gene expression differences between the sexes, […]
Read MoreIdentifying metabolic shifts in Crohn’s disease using’ omics-driven contextualized computational metabolic network models
Sci Rep. 2023 Jan 5;13(1):203. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-26816-5. ABSTRACT Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. A clear gap in our existing CD diagnostics and current disease management approaches is the lack of highly specific biomarkers that can be used to streamline or personalize disease management. Comprehensive profiling of metabolites holds […]
Read MoreTen simple rules for launching an academic research career
PLoS Comput Biol. 2022 Dec 15;18(12):e1010689. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010689. eCollection 2022 Dec. NO ABSTRACT PMID:36520710 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010689
Read MoreMetabolic Network Models of the Gardnerella Pangenome Identify Key Interactions with the Vaginal Environment
mSystems. 2022 Dec 13:e0068922. doi: 10.1128/msystems.00689-22. Online ahead of print. NO ABSTRACT PMID:36511689 | DOI:10.1128/msystems.00689-22
Read MoreEnterococci enhance Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis
Nature. 2022 Nov 16. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05438-x. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Enteric pathogens are exposed to a dynamic polymicrobial environment in the gastrointestinal tract1. This microbial community has been shown to be important during infection, but there are few examples illustrating how microbial interactions can influence the virulence of invading pathogens2. Here we show that […]
Read MoreGenome-scale metabolic modeling reveals increased reliance on valine catabolism in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae
NPJ Syst Biol Appl. 2022 Oct 28;8(1):41. doi: 10.1038/s41540-022-00252-7. ABSTRACT Infections due to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae have recently emerged as one of the most urgent threats to hospitalized patients within the United States and Europe. By far the most common etiological agent of these infections is Klebsiella pneumoniae, frequently manifesting in hospital-acquired pneumonia with a mortality […]
Read MoreNew perspectives into the vaginal microbiome with systems biology
Trends Microbiol. 2022 Oct 19:S0966-842X(22)00257-8. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.09.011. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT The vaginal microbiome (VMB) is critical to female reproductive health; however, the mechanisms associated with optimal and non-optimal states remain poorly understood due to the complex community structure and dynamic nature. Quantitative systems biology techniques applied to the VMB have improved understanding of […]
Read MoreHistone deacetylase inhibition by gut microbe-generated short chain fatty acids entrains intestinal epithelial circadian rhythms
Gastroenterology. 2022 Aug 4:S0016-5085(22)00827-7. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2022.07.051. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND & AIMS: The circadian clock orchestrates ∼24-hour oscillations of gastrointestinal epithelial structure and function that drive diurnal rhythms in gut microbiota. Here, we use experimental and computational approaches in intestinal organoids to reveal reciprocal effects of gut microbial metabolites on epithelial timekeeping by […]
Read MoreLeveraging metabolic modeling to identify functional metabolic alterations associated with COVID-19 disease severity
Metabolomics. 2022 Jul 11;18(7):51. doi: 10.1007/s11306-022-01904-9. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, SARS-CoV2 has claimed more than six million lives world-wide, with over 510 million cases to date. To reduce healthcare burden, we must investigate how to prevent non-acute disease from progressing to severe infection requiring hospitalization. METHODS: To achieve this […]
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