BACKGROUND This study was undertaken to characterize the vaginal microbiota throughout normal human pregnancy using sequence-based techniques. We compared the vaginal microbial composition of non-pregnant patients with a group of pregnant women who delivered at term. RESULTS A retrospective case-control longitudinal study was designed and included non-pregnant women (n = 32) and pregnant wome...

Although Streptococcus mutans has been implicated as a major etiological agent of dental caries, our cross-sectional preliminary study indicated that 10% of subjects with rampant caries in permanent teeth do not have detectable levels of S. mutans. Our aims were to use molecular methods to detect all bacterial species associated with caries in primary and permanent teeth and to determine the ba...

Perturbations to the vaginal microbiota can lead to dysbiosis, including bacterial vaginosis (BV), which affects a large portion of the female population. In a healthy state, the vaginal microbiota is characterized by low diversity and colonization by Lactobacillus spp., whereas in BV, these species are displaced by a highly diverse population of bacteria associated with adverse vaginal health ...

Introduction Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), considered the leading cause of chronic liver disease in children, can often progress from non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It is clear that obesity is one of the main risk factors involved in NAFLD pathogenesis, even if specific mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. We investigated the distribution...

The intestinal tract harbors a huge diversity of metabolically-active aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that interact, forming a complex ecosystem. This microbiota has an important role in human metabolism, nutrition, immunity, and protection against colonization by pathogenic microorganisms. Several factors can influence the intestinal microbiota; these include age, diet, inflammatory and infecti...

Peri-implant inflammation contributes for loss of secondary stability of orthodontic mini-implants. The investigation of microbial colonization in this area would benefit its control, and consequently favor the long-term success of mini-implants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the establishment and the evolution of microbial colonization process in orthodontic mini-implants f...

Lactobacillus plantarum 423 produces a small heat-stable antimicrobial protein designated plantaricin 423. This protein is bactericidal for many Gram-positive foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria, including Listeria spp., Staphylococcus spp., Pediococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp., etc. The DNA sequence of the plantaricin 423-encoding region on plasmid pPLA4 revealed a four open reading fram...

The potential prebiotic properties of arabino-oligosaccharides (AOS) derived from sugar beet pulp was studied using mixed cultures of human fecal bacteria from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), in remission or with active disease, and in healthy controls. These results were compared to those for fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), which are known to have a prebiotic effect. Fermentation studies...