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Sulakhe, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Sulakhe, D..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Imbalanced gut microbiota predicts and drives the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in a fast-food diet mouse model

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is multifactorial in nature, affecting over a billion people worldwide. The gut microbiome has emerged as an associative factor in NAFLD, yet mechanistic contributions are unclear. Here, we show fast food (FF) diets containing high fat, added cholesterol, and fructose/glucose drinking water differentially impact short- vs. long-term NAFLD severity and progression in conventionally-raised, but not germ-free mice. Correlation and machine learning analyses independently demonstrate FF diets induce early and specific gut microbiota changes that are predictive of NAFLD indicators, with corresponding microbial community instability relative to control-fed mice. Shotgun metagenomics showed FF diets containing high cholesterol elevate fecal pro-inflammatory effectors over time, relating to a reshaping of host hepatic metabolic and inflammatory transcriptomes. FF diet-induced gut dysbiosis precedes onset and is highly predictive of NAFLD outcomes, providing potential insights into microbially-based pathogenesis and therapeutics. HighlightsO_LIGerm-free mice are protected from fast-food diet-induced NAFLD. C_LIO_LIFast-food diets rapidly shift gut microbiota composition and function. C_LIO_LIIncreasing dietary cholesterol exacerbates hepatic inflammation only in SPF mice. C_LIO_LIFast-food diet-induced gut dysbiosis precedes and predicts late-stage NAFLD severity. C_LI

physiology↗

High Throughput RNA Sequencing of Mice Retina Reveals Metabolic Pathways Involved in the Gut-Retinal Axis

Background and aimsConnections between the gut microbiome and retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) are recently being established. Communication between the gut microbiome and retina, referred to as the gut-retina axis, has been proposed; however, the biologic pathways and mediators involved in the interactions have not yet been elucidated. Using high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of whole retinas, we compare the retinal transcriptome from germ-free (GF) and specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice to investigate the effects of the gut-microbiome on both retinal gene expression and biologic pathways. MethodsRNA was extracted from whole retinas of GF and SPF mice (four animals per group) and cDNA libraries were created. RNA-seq was performed on NovaSEQ6000 using the paired-end method. After preprocessing the RNA-seq data, gene expression value was calculated by count per million (CPM). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with the limma package from Bioconductor on the expression data. Functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction STRING protein-protein association network analyses were created for the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). ResultsRNA-sequencing reveals a cohort of 396 DEGs, of which, 173 are upregulated and 223 are downregulated in GF mouse retina. Enrichment analysis reveals that the DEGs are involved in glucocorticoid effects, transcription factor binding, cytoskeletal stability, lipid metabolism, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Multiple biologic pathways, including obesity/metabolic syndrome, longevity, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 transcription pathway, and 5 AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway are affected in the GF retinas. PPARG1a (PGC1a) gene is involved in 13 of the 35 significantly modulated pathways. Proteins with the greatest number of interactions in the PPI are E1A binding protein P300(EP300), forkhead box O3(FOXO3), and PGC1a. ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the involvement of the gut microbiome in driving the retinal transcriptome, providing evidence for the presence of a gut-retina axis. Future studies are needed to define the precise role of the gut-retina axis in the pathogenesis of retinal diseases.

molecular biology↗

Reproducible big data science: A case study in continuous FAIRness

Big biomedical data create exciting opportunities for discovery, but make it difficult to capture analyses and outputs in forms that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR). In response, we describe tools that make it easy to capture, and assign identifiers to, data and code throughout the data lifecycle. We illustrate the use of these tools via a case study involving a multi-step analysis that creates an atlas of putative transcription factor binding sites from terabytes of ENCODE DNase I hypersensitive sites sequencing data. We show how the tools automate routine but complex tasks, capture analysis algorithms in understandable and reusable forms, and harness fast networks and powerful cloud computers to process data rapidly, all without sacrificing usability or reproducibility--thus ensuring that big data are not hard-to-(re)use data. We compare and contrast our approach with other approaches to big data analysis and reproducibility.

bioinformatics↗