MICROBIOME Flashcards
Microbiome
Microbes on Earth are in a good or neutral relationship with us, it is TINY fraction that causes harm
Play a major role in human health and disease and represent and understand diagnostic and therapeutic target
Gut microbiome and overall health: associates with mood/behavior/mental state
One markers of disease is an altered microbiome
Symbiotic relationships
interaction between two difference organisms (regardless of good/bad)
Mutualism (ex of symbiosis)
both benefit each other
ex: sea anemone + clown fish
Commensalism (ex of symbiosis)
one benefits, one unaffected
ex: whale + barnacle
Parasitism (ex of symbiosis)
one benefits, one harmed
ex: dog + tick
QR: what is one benefit we get from our microbiome?
They take up space (beneficial), or else something bad could move into that space, digestion, maintenance, immune system
Mechanisms for causing illness
(1) Dysbiosis
(2) Opportunistic infections
(3) Novel Organisms to our body/immune system (transient microbiota)
Dysbiosis
Out of balance, change or imbalance between the types of organisms present in the microbiome
MAY be associated with a wide spectrum of disease: cancer, obesity, diabetes, allergy, ageing, Alzheimer, liver disease, etc
Opportunistic Infections
a weakened immune system allows for normal controlled organisms to flourish
Causes: genetic predisposition, chemotherapy for cancer, HIV/AIDS infection, bone marrow disease, pregnancy = when your immune system is weakened
organisms get into tissue that are not normally found: staph infections, sepsis
Novel Pathogens
something you’re not dealing with, like influenza, SARS, COVID, through touch, air, food, microbes not normally found in the body, we get them in through other resources
Major routes of transmittion:
- Contact
- Droplet
- Airborne
- Common vehicle
- Vector borne
What is the difference between an opportunistic infection and a novel pathogen?
Opportunistic infections occurs when the immune system is weakened whereas a novel pathogen is recently appeared within a population and population has low immunity
What are some of the causes for dysbiosis?
Stress can lead to microbiome changes; dysbiosis may then enable/promote opportunistic infections
genetics, lifestyle, environmental, hygiene
Identify why/how bacteria are medically important
Bacteria cause extracellular infections: epithelial surfaces, interstitial spaces, blood, lymph, and intracellular infections
Where in relation to our cells are the microbial interactions occurring
(1) Epithelial infections: the thin tissue that forms the outer layer of our body including skin, lining of the intestine, etc
-extracelluar
(2) Interstitial spaces, blood, lymph: proteases/enzymes
- to help bacterial cells get into different places in the body
- extracellular
(3) inside of cells
-intracellular
- get into cells and spread
Mechanisms of pathogenicity
endotoxins / exotoxins
Virulence factors
Intracellular
Extracellular
- Epithelial infections
-Interstitial spaces, blood, lymph
Toxins
Exotoxins (exit) Secreted/released
- gram + and found in some gram -
- Heat labile
- Highly antigenic
- High potency
Endotoxins (already apart of)
- Exclusively gram -, and only released when it dies
-Heat stable
- Weakly antigenic
- Low potency
- lipid portion of lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) that are part of the outer membrane of the cell wall of gram-negative
-endotoxins are liberated when bacteria die and the cell walls breaks apart
Extracellular and Intracellular Bacteria
Extracellular Bacteria: outside of cells, can cause cellular damage by: secreting/releasing compounds
- toxins
-proteases/enzymes
Intracellular bacteria: have the capability to enter and survive within the cells of the host organisms
Entrance into the host
(1) Epithelial infections: the thin tissue that forms the outer layer of our body including skin, lining of the intestine, etc