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A protocol for quantizing total bacterial 16S rDNA in plasma as a marker of microbial translocation in vivo

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 15, pages 937–939 (2018)Cite this article

Increased systemic microbial translocation contributes to the pathogenesis of various diseases. The magnitude of microbial translocation is measured by total bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) in plasma using quantitative PCR (qPCR). An evaluation of human systemic microbial translocation in vivo is crucial for revealing microbial product-mediated inflammation, innate immune activation and immune perturbation. The human gut harbors 1012 microorganisms per gram, and this is 10 times more than those from other sites.1,2 The intestinal mucosal barrier prevents pathogen invasion and nonpathogenic antigens residing within the intestinal lumen.1,2 Notably, the gut mucosal barrier prevents the host from being injured by pathogens, yet allows a very low level of bacterial product translocation to the system to maintain systemic immune homeostasis, as demonstrated by immune deficiencies in mice raised in sterile conditions.3,4,5,6,7

A ‘leaky’ gut and increased systemic microbial translocation contribute to the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as HIV infection, type II diabetes and hepatitis.8,9,10,11,12 We have previously shown that HIV infection causes increased systemic microbial translocation from a ‘leaky’ gut.7,8,9 Increased levels of microbial translocation and its associated inflammation and immune activation play key roles in HIV disease progression, regardless of antiretroviral therapy.7,8,9 Therefore, the quantification of total bacterial 16S rDNA in plasma is used to assess human and animal systemic microbial translocation in vivo, and thus is a great tool to study the role of systemic microbial products in disease pathogenesis and mucosal barrier function.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants AI091526 and AI128864 and the Medical Research Service at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center Merit grant VA CSRD MERIT (CX001211).

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  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA

    Wei Jiang

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 29425, Charleston, SC, USA

    Wei Jiang

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Correspondence to Wei Jiang.

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Jiang, W. A protocol for quantizing total bacterial 16S rDNA in plasma as a marker of microbial translocation in vivo . Cell Mol Immunol 15, 937–939 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2018.3

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