Tag : EBV

North Carolina: The gut microbiome has drawn the interest of academics and non-scientists alike over the last decade. A recent study has revealed that the bacteria and other microbes in our gut aid in immunity, metabolism, digestion, and the fight against "bad bacteria" that try to infiltrate our systems. However, new research published in Nature Biotechnology by Angela Wahl, PhD, Balfour Sartor, MD, J. Victor Garcia, PhD, and UNC School of Medicine colleagues others has revealed that the microbiome may not as always be protective against human pathogens. Using a first-of-its-kind precision animal model with no microbiome (germ-free), researchers have shown that the microbiome has a significant impact on the acquisition of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV) infection and plays a role in the course of disease. “These findings offer the first direct evidence that resident microbiota can have a significant impact on the establishment and pathology of infection by two different human-specific pathogens,” said Wahl, assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UNC Department of Medicine. This research was conducted through a collaboration with scientists at the UNC International Center for the Advancement of Translational Science and the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the UNC School of Medicine. For the discovery to be made, Wahl and Garcia needed to create a “humanized” mouse model that mimicked a human’s immune system to conduct their study. Once exposed to a virus, the humanized models can replicate the virus like a human and could be used for study. But researchers needed to take it one step further. Wahl and Garcia needed to compare a conventional humanized mouse model ...