MICROBIOME Flashcards

1
Q

Microbiome

A

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

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2
Q

Symbiotic relationships

A

interaction between two difference organisms (regardless of good/bad)

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3
Q

Mutualism (ex of symbiosis)

A

both benefit each other

ex: sea anemone + clown fish

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4
Q

Commensalism (ex of symbiosis)

A

one benefits, one unaffected

ex: whale + barnacle

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5
Q

Parasitism (ex of symbiosis)

A

one benefits, one harmed

ex: dog + tick

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6
Q

QR: what is one benefit we get from our microbiome?

A

They take up space (beneficial), or else something bad could move into that space, digestion, maintenance, immune system

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7
Q

Mechanisms for causing illness

A

(1) Dysbiosis

(2) Opportunistic infections

(3) Novel Organisms to our body/immune system (transient microbiota)

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8
Q

Dysbiosis

A

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

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9
Q

Opportunistic Infections

A

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

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10
Q

Novel Pathogens

A

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

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11
Q

What is the difference between an opportunistic infection and a novel pathogen?

A

Opportunistic infections occurs when the immune system is weakened whereas a novel pathogen is recently appeared within a population and population has low immunity

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12
Q

What are some of the causes for dysbiosis?

A

Stress can lead to microbiome changes; dysbiosis may then enable/promote opportunistic infections

genetics, lifestyle, environmental, hygiene

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13
Q

Identify why/how bacteria are medically important

A

Bacteria cause extracellular infections: epithelial surfaces, interstitial spaces, blood, lymph, and intracellular infections

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14
Q

Where in relation to our cells are the microbial interactions occurring

A

(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

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15
Q

Mechanisms of pathogenicity

A

endotoxins / exotoxins

Virulence factors

Intracellular

Extracellular
- Epithelial infections
-Interstitial spaces, blood, lymph

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16
Q

Toxins

A

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

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17
Q

Extracellular and Intracellular Bacteria

A

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

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18
Q

Entrance into the host

A

(1) Epithelial infections: the thin tissue that forms the outer layer of our body including skin, lining of the intestine, etc

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19
Q

Bacteria Cellular Structures

A
20
Q

How are bacterial infections treated

A

Antibiotics work by blocking vital processes in bacteria. They kill the bacteria or stop it from spreading. This helps the body’s natural immune system to fight the infection.

21
Q

what are some of the methods bacteria use to invade tissue?

A

Bacteria are living cells that grow and reproduce in the body and produce toxins or damage tissues they grow in.

Intracellular

Extracellular

22
Q

Are there differences between bacteria types as to how they cause disease?

A

gram-positive, gram-negative

23
Q

Protozoans Cellular structure

A

Eukaryotic cells, have membrane-bound organelles and are typically large and complex

diversity in sizes

Singled cell

24
Q

What are the difference between protozoans and bacteria

A

Protozoans are bigger than bacteria and contain a nucleus and other cell structures, making them more similar to plant and animal cells.

25
Q

How do Protozoans make us sick?

A

Protist parasites (extracellular & intracellular infections)
-Many but not all protozoans are transmitted via INSECT vector
-ticks, mosquitoes etc
-Can be sexually transmitted (trichomonas vaginalis)

*Not all vector-borne diseases are protozoans

26
Q

Life cycles of protozoans

A

Protozoan parasites may have complicated life cycles involving multiple organisms
- Hosts (primary, intermediate)
- Vectors
- Parasite
- Reservoir

Simple: person-to-person (ex: sexually transmitted protist)

FECAL-ORAL TRANSMISSION
Cyst (dormant stage, egg) will get ingested, gets in intestines, will feed and reproduce. Some will form cyst and repeat cycle.

Cycle gets more complex when vectors are involved

Example: ingestion of cyst in contaminated water and food, pool, plants,

27
Q

Vectors & Reservoir

A

living organism that transmits an infectious agent from an infected animal or a human to another animal

*Bacteria, protozoans, helminth, viruses

Reservoir: infectious agent is the habitat in which the agent normally lives, grows, and multiples (humans, environments)

28
Q

Are all protozoans spread by vectors?

A

Not all vector-borne diseases are protozoan (ex: oral fecal doesn’t involve vectors)

29
Q

Protozoans Treatments

A

Most drugs/treatments target enzymes/mechanisms
- life stages
- Motility structures
-Unique structures

  • Vector Control
  • Transmission Prevention
30
Q

Protozoan infections

A

Trichomonas vaginalis: sexually transmitted protist, from person-person

“Travelers diarrhea” Giardia Lamblia
- Fescal-oral transmission, ingestion of water, food, and direct by hand. Cysts are susceptible to drying, heating, or prolonged exposure to feces; viable in cold water and chlorine treated water for months

African Trypanosomiasis
-Epidemic in Africa
- vector transmission

“Silent killer” Trypanosoma cruzi - causative agent of Chagas disease
- Kissing bug carries parasite
- vector transmission

Malaria
- Mosquitoes
- many related deaths are in children

Toxoplasmosis
- leading cause of Foodborne illness
- obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that infects up to a third of the world’s population

31
Q

Do antibiotics work on protozoans?

A

Antibiotics can be used to some effect

Anti-protozoan drugs: drugs for anaerobic protozoa
- Metronidazole is one of the most widely used anti-protozoan drugs (Flagyl)

A lot of antibiotics can be used on some of the specialized plastid-derived structures

32
Q

Geographic differences

A

For some of these epidemics, large populations are or may become at risk.

It is a global problem, but does not get global attention.

33
Q

Medically important fungi

A

We encounter fungi every day (microbiome, direct skin contact, and inhalation of spores), but certain conditions cause the fungi to overgrow and cause symptoms.

Fungi are a small but important part of the microbiome that transitions during life (dynamic)

34
Q

Fungi life stages and cellular structures

A
  • eukaryotes
  • non-motile, both sexual and asexual
  • most are multicellular (yeast are unicellular)
  • hyphae (distinct cellular filaments) help identify the fungi
  • Heterotrophs (eats other animals/plants for nutrients/energy)

Life-cycles alternate between sexual and asexual production: interesting life cycle that can germinate from a single spore

35
Q

Fungal infections / occur

A

Fungi can cause a variety of skin conditions and external infections
- Athlete’s foot, ringworm, etc
- Sporotrichosis or “Rose gardner’s disease.” This is caused by Sporothrix schenkii a fungi that lives in the soil.

Can cause infections in our respiratory system
- Blastomycosis: breath in spores, get into blood and expand, cause permanent scarring
- Valley fever (endemic to most of California)
- Black Fungus Disease

36
Q

Where infections occur

A

We encounter fungi every day
- Microbiome
- Direct contact (skin)
- Inhalation of spores

Certain conditions can cause fungi to overgrow and cause symptoms:
- Weakened immune system
- Travel to an environment with excessive fungi
- Outbreak of fungi due to changes in the environment, such as construction
- Introduction of new fungi to an environment

37
Q

How are fungal infections generally spread / classified as?

A

Fungi can cause intra and extracellular infections:
- They can attack the outside of your cells, grow and invade in the tissue, cause inflammation
- hyphae can extend and directly interact with tissue/cells
- Some fungi are dimorphic (can convert from a single cellular yeast form to the filamentous hyphae form)
- Other fungi can impact many types of tissue.
Microsporidia are obligate intracellular pathogens

Classification: through observation of characteristics, growing and testing

38
Q

Medically important Helminths

A

Animals (multicellular) that can infect a variety of hosts to cause deadly disease
Ex: Human Whipworm, Ascaris, Hookworm

extracellular parasites

Two major groups:
- Roundworms (Nematodes)
- Flatworms (Platyhelminthes)

39
Q

Helminths life stages and transmission

A

Life cycles:
- some involve vectors, some are passed via oral-fecal routes
-contaminated meat
- Ingest egg, get into digestion system, and can become a meter long

  • symptoms can range from mild to extreme
40
Q

Neglected Tropical Diseases

A

“NTDs include several parasitic, viral and bacterial diseases that cause substantial illness for more than one billion people globally. NTDs impair physical and cognitive development, contribute to mother/child illness and death, make it difficult to farm or earn a living and limit productivity in the workplace. NTDs trap the poor in a cycle of poverty and disease” - CDC

Occurs along the equatorial belt, vector driven, hot/humid climates

41
Q

Treatments

A

Deworming medicine

Treatment available, for everybody

Best treatment would be prevention

42
Q

Medically important acellular microbes

A

Small, infectious, acellular pathogens

Obligate intracellular parasites with host and cell-type specificity

Have a genome of either DNA or RNA

Have a protein coating (capsid)

May have an envelope

43
Q

Virus classification

A

Morphology (shapes)
Helical, polyhedral spherical, complex

Enveloped or non-enveloped (naked)

Most common classification: Genome type

44
Q

Viral structure / anatomy

A

All particles have:
- Protein coat (capsid)
- Genome (nucleic acids)
- Enzymes

Some particles have:
- Envelope (lipid layer)
- Envelope proteins

Look like geometric shapes

45
Q

Virus Life Cycle

A

Different between eukaryotic and prokaryotic hosts

Prokaryotic:
Bacteriophages have a classic dual life cycle that can alternate between lytic and lysogenic.

Eukaryotic:
A

46
Q

Virus treatments

A

Antiviral drugs

47
Q

Common viral infections

A

Influenza, pneumonia, HPV, herpes, rotavirus, COVID-19