Co-Evolving with Our Microbiome

Analysts have been concentrating among the dynamic parts of supportive microorganisms inside the human body, and they found out that: “In fact, most of the cells in the human body are not human at all. Bacteria cells in the human body outnumber human cells 10 to one.” (Jennifer Ackerman, 2012, p. 38) Ackerman also expresses that

Even though H. pylori is a "neutralophile", it can survive in the very acidic environment in the human stomach due to a variety of acidic-adaptive mechanisms, such as the ability to utilize urease to break down urea

Bacteria is a single celled organism, bacteria have evolved to thrive in almost any environment and can be found in almost any substance/surface and also in the human body, only 1% of bacteria is actually harmful.

The article “Some of My Best Friends are Germs,” by Michael Pollen was a very interesting and informative read. Pollen explains that our bodies house 100s of trillions of microbes. More than 99 percent of our genetic information is microbial. The large number of bacteria that inhabits us weighs many pounds, forming a massive, unexplored world that scientists are just starting to document. These bacteria affect our health as much as if not more than the genes we receive from our parents.

We live in an environment, where there exists a daily interaction of humans, natural forces and other living things. This environment provides for our growth, survival as well as danger. A very important factor of this environment is Disease or illness. Various factors contribute to illness, such as injury, unhealthy lifestyle and lack of healthcare.

Technological advancement has often outperformed scientific knowledge associated with the causes that determine health. Increasing complications in social organization increase the possibilities by which multiple agents can disturb health, including factors such as those that risk physical health like venomous chemicals or radiation, restricted access to sanitary and pure natural resources, and the infinite amalgamation of them all. Decisions taken in areas apparently detached from health frequently have the prospect to have an impact on people’s health in either positive or negative manner due to a large number of links and connections in modern life. Health is an area comprised of highly intricate systems, which can be accidentally

With the antibiotics if H Pylori is confirmed, what would you educate the patient about these medications?

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium that inhabits the human stomach and has been linked as a risk factor for chronic gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer. H. pylori is able to survive in the acidic environment of the stomach due to its urease enzyme which converts the urea in gastric juice to alkaline ammonia and carbon dioxide. Infection with H. pylori is generally contracted during childhood and can persist indefinitely if untreated. Possible risk factors for H. pylori infection include poor diet, poor hygiene, density, low socioeconomic status (SES), and family history of gastric disease. Studies have found an increased risk of infection with consuming food prepared under unsanitary conditions and a reduced risk with increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Poor hygiene

H. pylori relies heavily on the activation of the host inflammatory response in order to utilize host metabolites as well as various cytokines, and chemokines, namely IL-8. Given the knowledge on H. pylori genetic diversity, it is important to note the functionality of the cag pathogenicity island (cagPAI) encoded by H. pylori’s genome. This pathogenicity island along with the plasticity zone is a major contributor to the development of disease from pathogenic strains of the bacteria. The cag pathogenicity island also encodes for H. pylori’s Type IV secretory system used to transport virulence proteins. CagPAI activation of the inflammatory response in the stomach also results in the apoptosis of T cells. All these factors and more contribute to H. pylori’s persistence in the host and mechanisms for inducing disease. The following pages will detail how genetic diversity along with the utilization of the Type IV secretion system and vacA toxin cause such severe gastric carcinogenesis and ulcer formation, as well as the role horizontal gene transfer has on strain specific diversity and pathogenesis of

Classification of the causative agent: H. Pylori is a gram – spiral shaped bacterium History: Helicobacter pylori is the first formally recognized bacterial carcinogen. Virulence factors of the causative agent: The H. pylori adhesion protein BabA2 is thought to play a crucial role in bacterial colonization and in induction of severe gastric inflammation, particularly in combination with expression of CagA and VacA. Mode of transmission: The exact route of transmission is unknown, but acquisition is likely to occur during childhood through faecal–oral or oral–oral contact or during gastrointestinal tract transit disorders. Transmission may also occur through food-borne,

The treatment of helicobacter pylori is long and difficult, no matter whether it affects humans or animals.

In a study by Cho et al, the authors establish a link between use of antibiotics and the microbiome and metabolism. Antibiotic use affects the microbiome which leads to increased adiposity and release of hormones which affect metabolism. Changes in the microbiome results in changes in how the body breaks down carbohydrates and how it regulates liver function and cholesterol. (4)

The human gastrointestinal tract contains up to 1013 - 1014 cells (Savage, 1977). It show that a human gastrointestinal tract have a complex ecosystem made up of the gastrointestinal epithelium, immune cells and resident microbiota (Moal, et al., 2006; McCraken, et al., 2001). It is estimated a generation or doubling time between 1 and 4 per day. The three major sections of the human gastrointestinal tract are the stomach, the small intestine, and the large intestine. Each section of the organ on gastrointestinal tract has its own specific microorganism can be called microbiota as well. The stomach is primarily inhabited by aerobic gram-positive microorganisms (<103 CFU/g). The small intestine contains with the bacteria from the genera of Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacteriocides, and Streptococcus (103 - 104 CFU/g) and the large intestine is populated by a large numbers (1011 - 1012 CFU/g) of bacteria from the genera of Bacteriocides, Fusobacterium, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Eubacterium (Savage,

Antibiotic therapy, although effective, is associated with several disadvantages including the low patient compliance due to the drugs’ side effects, treatment failure as a result of the emergence of drug-resistant strains, high costs, and the failure to prevent reinfection [4-7]. Therefore, alternative approaches to combat H. pylori infection are currently pursued, including vaccination. Several H. pylori proteins have been identified as immunogenic in preclinical models, including Urease B (UreB) [8], Vacuolating toxin A (VacA) [9], H. pylori adhesion A (HpaA) [10], neutrophil-activating protein A (NapA) [11], outer membrane protein (Omp) [12], cytotoxin-associated antigen (CagA) [9], heat-shock proteins (Hsp) [13, 14], OipA [15] catalase [16] and chimeric genes [17-19]. Each of these antigens has the ability to reduce the bacterial load in animal models, but none affords protection against infection. Current strategies to enhance vaccine efficacy include the identification of most suitable immune targets and the combination of immunodominant antigens into multivalent formulations. Gholi et al. [20] demonstrated that FliD,, the flagellar hook-associated protein 2, reacts with approximately 97 percent of sera obtained from patients infected with H. pylori, suggesting that this is a common immune target in the infected human host [20]. FliD plays a crucial role in flagella assembly. Flagellin is important for bacterial motility and is essential for