Freshly identified nutrients help the gut to recall previous diseases and kill invasive bacteria

Scientists studying the body’s natural defenses against bacterial infections have identified a nutrient – taurine – that helps the gut recall diseases in advance and kill invasive bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn). The result, published in the journal Cell with scientists from five institutes of National Institutes of Health, they were able to help with efforts to find alternatives to antibiotics.

Scientists know that microbiota – the trillions of beneficial microbes that live harmoniously inside our gut – can protect people from bacterial infections, but little is known about how they protect . Scientists are studying the microbiota with a view to finding or developing natural remedies instead of antibiotics, which damage the microbiota and become less effective as bacteria develop resistance to drugs.

The scientists claimed that microbiota that had previously suffered from an infection and transferred to mice without an organism helped prevent infection. Kpn. They identified a class of bacteria–Deltaproteobacteria– proven in the fight against these diseases, and further analysis led them to identify taurine as the cause of Deltaproteobacteria action.

Taurine helps the body digest fat and oils and is found naturally in bile acids in the gut. The toxic gas hydrogen sulfide is caused by taurine. The scientists believe that low levels of taurine allow pathogens to colonize the gut, but high levels produce enough hydrogen sulfide to prevent colonization. During the study, the researchers realized that one disease is moderate enough to prepare the microbiota to fight subsequent infections, and that the liver and gallbladder – which carry out the synthesis and storage of bile acid in the does taurine – protect against long-term infection.

The study found that taurine administered to mice as a supplement in drinking water also prepared the microbiota to prevent infection. However, when mice drank water containing bismuth subsalicylate – a common over-the-counter drug used for diarrhea and upset stomach – infection protection escaped because bismuth inhibits hydrogen sulfide production.

Scientists from the NIH National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases led the project in collaboration with researchers from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences; the National Cancer Institute; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and the National Research Institute for the Human Genome.