Karen Pendergrass, Standards Team

This study confirms elevated lactoferrin and anti-lactoferrin antibody levels in endometriosis, suggesting autoimmune involvement. Anti-lactoferrin drops post-surgery, hinting at a biomarker role, while lactoferrin ties to inflammation and potential microbiome links.

What was studied?This study investigated the causal relationship between gut microbiome composition and endometriosis using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (R) approach. The researchers aimed to determine whether specific gut microbiota taxa have a direct causal effect on endometriosis risk rather than a mere observational association.Who was studied?The study utilized genome-wide association study (WAS) summary statistics […]

The Microbial Metallomics Theory of Endometriosis proposes that heavy metals, microbial metallophores, and immune dysregulation drive endometriosis progression. This novel framework links environmental toxins, microbiome shifts, and metalloestrogen activity, offering new insights into disease mechanisms and potential treatments, including metal chelation, microbiome modulation, and immune recalibration.

A patient with refractory celiac disease type I achieved complete duodenal villi recovery and symptom resolution after fecal microbiota transfer.

Microbial Metallomics is the study of how microorganisms interact with metal ions in biological systems, particularly within the human microbiome.

The BB is a crucial regulatory interface between the circulatory and central nervous systems, and its dysfunction has profound implications for neurodegeneration, inflammation, and systemic disease. Increasing evidence supports the role of the gut microbiome in BB modulation, highlighting microbiome-targeted therapies as a promising avenue for maintaining neurological health and preventing age-associated cognitive decline.

This review explores the microbiota–gut–brain axis, highlighting the role of gut microbiota in barrier integrity and lymphatic transport. It discusses microbial metabolites, vagus nerve signaling, and meningeal lymphatics as critical communication pathways, emphasizing their implications for gastrointestinal and neurological disorders.

What Was This study examined the impact of heavy metal exposure on the prevalence and differentiation of osteoarthritis (A) and rheumatoid arthritis (A) using interpretable machine learning models. Researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES) (2003–2020) to assess how various heavy metals contribute to arthritis risk.Who Was The study population […]

This study explored the association between rheumatoid arthritis and heavy metal exposure, identifying a significant deficiency of copper in A patients. No significant correlations were found for zinc, cobalt, lead, or nickel. The findings suggest that copper deficiency may play a role in A, warranting further research on trace metals in autoimmune diseases.

Rheumatoid arthritis (A) is a systemic autoimmune disease marked by chronic joint inflammation, synovitis, and bone erosion, driven by Th17 imbalance, excessive L-17, NF-α, and L-1 production, and macrophage activation. Emerging evidence links microbial dysbiosis and heavy metal exposure to A, [1][2] with gut microbiota influencing autoimmune activation via Toll-like receptor (LR) signaling, inflammasome activation, […]

What was studied?This study investigated the taxonomic and functional gut microbiota profiles of euthyroid individuals with and without thyroid peroxidase antibodies (POAb), a marker for autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The goal was to assess whether gut microbiota composition differs in individuals with POAb before the clinical onset of autoimmune thyroid disease and […]

This study identifies significant gut microbiota alterations in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, with reduced beneficial microbes and increased pathogens.

This study revealed novel molecular signatures linking gut microbiota and transcriptome in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, advancing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Gut microbiota analysis in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients identified significant dysbiosis, with increased pro-inflammatory taxa and reduced beneficial microbes, correlating with thyroid autoantibodies.

This review explores the toxicity of heavy metals and pesticides in agricultural ecosystems, detailing their ecological and health impacts. It highlights pathways, bioaccumulation, and synergistic interactions, emphasizing the need for improved agricultural practices and bioremediation to mitigate these toxicants’ harmful effects on soil, plants, and human health.

The study reviewed adverse events linked to nickel hypersensitivity in Essure implants, noting rare reactions and the role of the menstrual cycle in modulating hypersensitivity.

Excess nickel disrupts gut microbiota, promoting dysbiosis and contributing to conditions like obesity and systemic nickel allergy syndrome (NAS). Probiotics and nickel-restricted diets show promise in mitigating these effects, underscoring the need for further research and clinical intervention.

This review explores copper’s role in diabetes and diabetic kidney disease, emphasizing its impact on oxidative stress, glycemic control, and renal function. Findings highlight the potential of copper homeostasis as a therapeutic target and the Cu ratio as a biomarker for diabetes management and KD progression.

This study evaluated the associations of zinc, copper, and Cu ratio with cardiometabolic risk factors in Qatari adults, revealing copper’s protective role and Cu ratio’s adverse implications for metabolic health.

Ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (M) inhibits endometriosis progression in NFR1-deficient mice by reducing copper and estradiol levels, lesion growth, angiogenesis, and oxidative stress.

This study links higher dietary zinc intake with increased endometriosis risk among American women, highlighting zinc’s complex role in immune modulation and estrogen-related pathways. Findings emphasize the importance of balanced intake for managing endometriosis risk.

Chronic chlorpyrifos exposure induces obesity and insulin resistance by altering gut microbiota, increasing gut permeability, and driving inflammation.

Nickel allergy, smoking, and dietary nickel intake may worsen chronic fatigue and muscle pain. Managing exposure can improve symptoms.

This review highlights how gluten-free, Mediterranean, and anti-inflammatory diets improve pain perception in endometriosis by reducing inflammation and modulating the gut microbiome. Probiotics and bioactive nutrients such as curcumin enhance therapeutic outcomes.

This review explores how dietary modifications impact endometriosis progression. Antioxidants, omega-3s, and anti-inflammatory diets show promise in symptom relief and hormonal regulation. Personalized nutrition emerges as a pivotal tool for improving patient outcomes.

This study identified elevated blood nickel levels in women with endometriosis, suggesting a potential role of nickel as a metalloestrogen in its pathogenesis.

A case study links elevated lead, nickel, and bismuth in peritoneal fluid with endometriosis, highlighting potential dietary and environmental exposures as contributors. Further research may identify these potentially toxic elements (TEs) as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

The Bradford Hill Criteria emphasized a holistic assessment of evidence to determine causality rather than requiring rigid experimental proof.

Metal Homeostasis Copper dysregulation plays a definitive role in the pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Elevated copper levels increase the risk of developing DM by 15-fold per standard deviation, highlighting copper’s critical influence on oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways central to the disease. Studies show that DM patients exhibit higher copper levels and […]

Microbiome findings provide mechanistic insights into how chlorhexidine (HX) mouthwash might contribute to breast cancer and breast disease in a causal manner.

The study linked reduced oral microbiome diversity and altered microbial profiles to breast cancer and non-malignant breast disease, highlighting strong correlations between oral and fecal microbiomes in cases versus controls. Genera such as Porphyromonas showed significant inverse associations with breast cancer risk.

Microbial dysbiosis, marked by reduced bacterial load and altered species composition, is linked to breast cancer progression. Enrichment of Methylobacterium radiotolerans in tumors and depletion of Sphingomonas yanoikuyae in normal tissue suggest diagnostic and therapeutic potential for microbiota-based interventions in breast cancer.

Gut microbiota influences early breast cancer prognosis and treatment side effects, with specific commensals correlating to outcomes. Chemotherapy alters microbiota, favoring beneficial species and improving immune modulation and neuroprotection.

This study reveals distinct gut microbiota profiles in breast cancer and CIS patients, with reduced alpha diversity and functional shifts linked to inflammation. Major microbial associations, including enriched Bacteroides guilds, underscore potential microbiome-targeted interventions. Oral microbiota showed minimal differences, highlighting the gut’s critical role in breast cancer progression.

The study revealed altered gut microbiota in postmenopausal breast cancer patients, with enriched inflammation-associated species and depleted butyrate producers. Functional gene changes suggest links to systemic inflammation and metabolic imbalance, providing insights into microbiota’s role in cancer progression.

This study shows that breast cancer, rather than menopausal status, drives subtle gut microbiota changes. Dysbiosis in C patients included reduced Blautia obeum and Bifidobacterium. Functional impacts, such as downregulated AD pathways, suggest gut microbiota’s potential role in cancer progression.

This study links reduced gut microbial diversity and specific taxa (e.g., Acidaminococcus, Hungatella) to breast cancer, influenced by diet. Findings suggest microbiome-targeted interventions and dietary strategies could mitigate breast cancer risk.

This study identifies gut dysbiosis in breast cancer patients, highlighting reduced CFA-producing bacteria and altered microbial pathways. Findings suggest microbiome-targeted interventions could aid breast cancer treatment.

This study explores the mammary microbiota’s composition and function before and after breast cancer diagnosis, revealing dysbiosis and metabolic shifts as early markers.

The study analyzed breast tumor and adjacent tissues, linking microbiota composition to cancer pathways. Key findings implicate specific microbes in breast cancer progression.

What was studied?This study investigated the gut microbiota profiles, diagnostic value, and functional pathways specific to premenopausal breast cancer patients. It aimed to identify unique gut microbial markers distinguishing premenopausal breast cancer patients from postmenopausal patients and age-matched controls. The study also explored functional pathways of gut microbiota linked to breast cancer progression and diagnostic […]

This review highlights microbiome alterations in endometriosis, including gut and vaginal dysbiosis, and explores microbiome-targeted therapies and diagnostics.

Pueraria lobata extract enhances antioxidant activity and modulates gut microbiota by increasing Lactobacillaceae and Bacteroidetes while reducing harmful taxa.

This review assesses plant-derived agents for endometriosis therapy, focusing on mechanisms like inflammation, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. Key agents such as resveratrol and curcumin show preclinical promise, while Chinese herbal medicine (HM) demonstrates clinical utility.

What Was This study explored the potential link between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and the risk of laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis. Using data collected from the Nurses’ Health Study I, the researchers analyzed dietary habits over a 22-year period, investigating whether certain food groups and nutrients influenced the likelihood of developing endometriosis.Who Was Participants […]

The chronic inflammatory state of endometriosis affects energy metabolism, particularly altering glutamine and glutamate levels in tissues. These shifts in amino acid, lipid, sugar, and organic acid metabolisms create a distinct profile for endometriosis.

BOT demonstrates complete remission and holds significant promise as a candidate for microbiome-targeted intervention for endometriosis.

This study demonstrates hyperbaric oxygen therapy (BOT) achieves complete remission of endometriotic lesions in a rat model by reducing hypoxia, inflammation, and NF-α levels. While BOT shows potential as a non-invasive therapy for endometriosis, further studies are needed to validate its impact on microbiome modulation.

This study highlights hyperbaric oxygen therapy’s (BOT) role in reducing inflammation and FκB expression in a mouse model of endometriosis. The findings suggest BOT as a promising non-invasive treatment for managing endometriosis-associated inflammation, targeting hypoxia-induced molecular pathways and offering potential microbiome benefits through reduced inflammatory burden.

A low-nickel diet is validated as an BTI for endometriosis because it disrupts nickel-dependent pathogens, rebalances the microbiome, and improves symptoms like pelvic pain and dysmenorrhea.

This review highlights the potential of plant-derived therapies for endometriosis. Key findings include anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-angiogenic effects of herbal extracts and bioactive compounds, offering safer long-term alternatives to conventional treatments.

Metronidazole is a validated microbiome-targeted intervention (BTI) for endometriosis, reducing key dysbiotic taxa and suppressing inflammation and lesion progression.

By directly targeting microbial dysbiosis, hormonal imbalances, and inflammation, metformin not only validates the clinical relevance of the endometriosis microbiome signature but also positions itself as an effective therapeutic option for the condition.

Hyperglycemia weakens placental immunity in DM, increasing bacterial invasiveness. Metformin reduces bacterial counts of E. coli and S. agalactiae, providing protective benefits beyond insulin. Cytokine tolerization under hyperglycemia highlights the need for enhanced therapeutic interventions.

Pueraria Flower Extract (FE) addresses microbial imbalances and inflammation in endometriosis, validating its role as a microbiome-targeted therapy.

Pueraria thomsonii flower extract reduces visceral fat and MI without sexual dimorphism, offering a safe intervention for obesity management.

This study demonstrates the potential of ¹MR metabolomics to diagnose endometriosis non-invasively by identifying metabolic biomarkers and disrupted pathways. Quadratic Discriminant Analysis outperformed Artificial Neural Networks in diagnostic accuracy.

This study used 1H-MR metabonomics to identify serum biomarkers for early endometriosis diagnosis. Elevated lactate, alanine, and reduced glucose levels highlight metabolic disruptions, offering a minimally invasive diagnostic tool.

This study highlights metabolic alterations in endometrial tissue and serum of minimal and mild endometriosis patients, identifying amino acid biomarkers with diagnostic potential. A combined serum panel demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 83% specificity for Stage I diagnosis, offering a promising step toward non-invasive early detection of endometriosis.

This study links cervical microbiome diversity with endometriosis severity. Findings reveal microbial imbalances, particularly in advanced stages, correlate with pain, infertility, and inflammatory pathways. The cervical microbiome may serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for improving outcomes in endometriosis, highlighting its role in reproductive health and disease progression.

This review highlights the bidirectional relationship between endometriosis and the microbiome, showcasing dysbiosis as a key factor in inflammation and estrogen metabolism. Emerging microbiome-targeted therapies hold promise for diagnosis and treatment.

This review highlights the gut and genital microbiome’s roles in estrogen-driven conditions like endometriosis, infertility, and PP, emphasizing dysbiosis’ impact on inflammation and estrogen metabolism.

The study links lead and cadmium exposure to increased endometriosis risk, emphasizing lead’s role at low blood levels and synergistic effects with cadmium. It advocates for strict monitoring and preventive measures to minimize exposure.

This study quantified metalloestrogens—cadmium, nickel, and lead—in ectopic endometrial tissue, suggesting their role in endometriosis persistence.

This study identifies nickel allergy as an independent risk factor for endometriosis, highlighting shared immune dysregulation and estrogenic pathways. Using a population-based cohort, researchers found a 2.5-fold increased odds of nickel allergy in women with endometriosis, emphasizing the role of environmental exposures in its pathogenesis.

This review explores bacterial iron homeostasis, focusing on detoxification pathways, oxidative stress mitigation, and iron-storage mechanisms. It highlights regulatory proteins like Fur and R and storage proteins like ferritins. These insights provide potential therapeutic targets for limiting bacterial growth and addressing iron-related dysbiosis in host-pathogen interactions.

This review explores the role of trace elements and oxidative stress in endometriosis, highlighting their potential as therapeutic targets. It underscores the need for further research into the trace elements’ roles in endometriotic lesions.

Iron overload in endometriosis contributes to oxidative stress, inflammation, and tissue damage, driving lesion persistence and subfertility. Ferroptosis resistance and dysregulated iron metabolism highlight therapeutic opportunities using iron chelators and modulators.

This study identifies stool-based biomarkers for endometriosis diagnosis and highlights the therapeutic potential of 4-hydroxyindole, a microbiota-derived metabolite, in reducing inflammation and lesion progression.

This study explored oral microbiome-signatures for diagnosing SCC non-invasively. Using 16S rRNA sequencing and machine learning, key taxa differences were identified, enabling a predictive model with 85.7% accuracy. The findings suggest oral microbiota’s potential as a stable biomarker, revolutionizing early, non-invasive cancer detection.

Metabolomics provides insights into the metabolic underpinnings of BD and BS, revealing disease-specific biomarker metabolites linked to gut dysbiosis. These findings pave the way for non-invasive diagnostics and precision medicine.

Endometriosis significantly increases the risk of clear-cell, low-grade serous, and endometrioid ovarian cancers. This study highlights the need for subtype-specific ovarian cancer surveillance and prevention strategies.

This review explores the significant comorbidity between systemic lupus erythematosus (LE) and endometriosis, emphasizing shared pathological pathways.

This review synthesizes key theories on endometriosis pathogenesis, emphasizing immune, hormonal, and epigenetic interactions in its progression.

The study links endometriosis with a fivefold increased risk of BS in adolescents, emphasizing the role of acyclic pelvic pain severity and inflammation as shared mechanisms. Early screening for BS and microbiome-targeted interventions could improve outcomes in this group.

Fusobacterium infection significantly contributes to endometriosis pathogenesis, activating fibroblast inflammation and lesion formation. Antibiotics like metronidazole show promise.

Zinc is an essential trace element vital for cellular functions and microbiome health. It influences immune regulation, pathogen virulence, and disease progression in conditions like BS and breast cancer. Pathogens exploit zinc for survival, while therapeutic zinc chelation can suppress virulence, rebalance the microbiome, and offer potential treatments for inflammatory and degenerative diseases.

Matrix Metalloproteinases (MPs) are zinc-dependent enzymes that regulate extracellular matrix remodeling, with critical roles in health, disease, and interactions with the microbiome.

This study examined gut microbiota alterations in Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy (AN) and Membranous Nephropathy (N), identifying unique and shared microbial changes linked to disease pathology. The findings suggest potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets through the gut-kidney axis.

Joseph F. Petrosino’s editorial highlights the microbiome’s pivotal role in precision medicine, emphasizing its potential to advance personalized diagnostics and therapeutic strategies. The integration of microbiome signatures with other ‘omics’ data, such as genomics and metabolomics, offers a comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms and tailored treatments. Petrosino draws parallels between microbiome signature research and genomics, […]

A microbiome specialist is a healthcare or research professional with expertise in the human microbiome—the diverse community of microorganisms that inhabit various body sites, including the gut, skin, oral cavity, and genitourinary tract. Microbiome specialists study how microbial communities interact with human health and disease and apply this knowledge to develop targeted interventions.These professionals often […]

Estrogen receptors (Rs) are specialized proteins that respond to the hormone estrogen, playing a critical role in regulating biological processes such as reproduction, cellular growth, and differentiation.

What was studied?This study investigated the presence of metalloestrogens in ectopic endometrial tissue from women with endometriosis. Metalloestrogens, heavy metals that can mimic estrogen and may contribute to estrogen-dependent diseases, were the focus, particularly regarding their potential role in the persistence and pathology of endometriosis. The researchers specifically analyzed levels of cadmium, nickel, and lead […]

This review identifies metalloestrogens as a critical factor in hormone disruption and breast cancer risk.

Metalloestrogens are metals that activate the estrogen receptor in the absence of estradiol.

What Was The systematic review and meta-analysis examined the relationship between exposure to metalloestrogens—specifically arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), selenium (Se), and mercury (Hg)—and the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (DM). This review aimed to aggregate findings from observational studies to better understand how these metals, which have estrogenic […]

This study provides strong evidence that nickel-rich foods in a gluten-free diet can trigger or exacerbate BS-like gastrointestinal and extraintestinal symptoms in a subset of celiac disease patients, even when the disease is in serological and histological remission. The findings highlight the importance of nickel sensitivity in the pathogenesis of these relapsing symptoms, suggesting that a low-nickel diet can be a valuable intervention to improve patient outcomes. The use of the nickel oral mucosa patch test (Ni omPT) was also validated as a reliable diagnostic tool for identifying nickel-sensitive patients.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (BS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and altered bowel habits. Recent research has focused on the gut microbiota’s role in BS, aiming to identify specific microbial signatures associated with the condition.

What was studied?This study investigated the incidence of hypersensitivity to dental metals—specifically zinc, nickel, gold, and palladium—in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (BS). The study aimed to assess whether hypersensitivity to these metals, which are commonly used in dental prostheses, could be linked to immune activation in BS patients. The focus was on understanding how […]

Clinoptilolite zeolite binds nickel ions, reducing pathogen activity, making it a potential therapy for nickel allergies and nickel-induced microbiome imbalances.

What was reviewed?The review focused on the safety and medical applications of clinoptilolite, a naturally occurring zeolite, for in vivo use. The analysis encompassed the physical and chemical properties of clinoptilolite, its detoxifying capabilities, and its potential therapeutic effects in both human and veterinary medicine. The review also considered various studies on clinoptilolite’s role in […]

Phage therapy uses viruses to target and kill specific bacteria, offering a precise alternative to antibiotics, especially for resistant infections.

Major Microbial Associations (MAs) are fundamental in understanding disease-microbiome interactions and play a crucial role in advancing microbiome-targeted interventions aimed at treating or preventing diseases through microbial modulation.

Gram-negative bacteria are resilient pathogens with antibiotic resistance, causing infections like TIs, sepsis, and pneumonia.

Oxidase positivity in an organism refers to the ability of the organism to produce the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, which is involved in the electron transport chain during aerobic respiration.

Overview Koch’s postulates, formulated by Robert Koch in the late 19th century, were a set of criteria used to establish a causative relationship between a specific microbe and a disease. These postulates became foundational in microbiology, providing a systematic approach for identifying pathogenic microorganisms. The original postulates consist of four criteria:Presence of the Microbe in […]