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University College Cork
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2 researchers0 verified2 linked papers380 indexed citations
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2020 · Nutrition Research Reviews · 286 citations
The biology of ergothioneine, an antioxidant nutraceutical
Ergothioneine (ERG) is an unusual thio-histidine betaine amino acid that has potent antioxidant activities. It is synthesised by a variety of microbes, especially fungi (including in mushroom fruiting bodies) and actinobacteria, but is not synthesised by plants and animals who acquire it via the soil and their diet, respectively. Animals have evolved a highly selective transporter for it, known as solute carrier family 22, member 4 (SLC22A4) in humans, signifying its importance, and ERG may even have the status of a vitamin. ERG accumulates differentially in various tissues, according to their expression of SLC22A4, favouring those such as erythrocytes that may be subject to oxidative stress. Mushroom or ERG consumption seems to provide significant prevention against oxidative stress in a large variety of systems. ERG seems to have strong cytoprotective status, and its concentration is lowered in a number of chronic inflammatory diseases. It has been passed as safe by regulatory agencies, and may have value as a nutraceutical and antioxidant more generally.
2019 · Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology · 94 citations
Microbiome and skin biology
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The skin is home to a diverse milieu of bacteria, fungi, viruses, bacteriophages, and archaeal communities. The application of culture-independent approaches has revolutionized the characterization of the skin microbiome and have revealed a previously underappreciated phylogenetic and functional granularity of skin-associated microbes in both health and disease states. RECENT FINDINGS: The physiology of a given skin-niche drives the site-specific differences in bacterial phyla composition of healthy skin. Changes in the skin microbiome have consistently been associated with atopic dermatitis. In particular, Staphylococcus aureus overgrowth with concomitant decline in Staphylococcus epidermidis is a general feature associated with atopic dermatitis and is not restricted to eczematous lesions. Changes in fungal species are now also being described. Changes in the composition and metabolic activity of the gut microbiota are associated with skin health. SUMMARY: We are now beginning to appreciate the intimate and intricate interactions between microbes and skin health. Multiple studies are currently focused on the manipulation of the skin or gut microbiome to explore their therapeutic potential in the prevention and treatment of skin inflammation.