To investigate the relationship between intestinal microbiota and SARS-CoV-2-mediated pathogenicity in a United States, majority African American cohort. We prospectively collected fecal samples from 50 SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, 9 SARS-CoV-2 recovered patients, and 34 uninfected subjects seen by the hospital with unrelated respiratory medical conditions (controls). 16S rRNA sequencing and qPCR analysis was performed on fecal DNA/RNA. The fecal microbial composition was found to be significantly different between SARS-CoV-2 patients and controls (PERMANOVA FDR-P = .004), independent of antibiotic exposure. Peptoniphilus, Corynebacterium and Campylobacter were identified as the three most significantly enriched genera in COVID-19 patients compared to controls. Actively infected patients were also found to have a different gut microbiota than recovered patients (PERMANOVA FDR-P = .003), and the most enriched genus in infected patients was Campylobacter, with Agathobacter and Faecalibacterium being enriched in the recovered patients. No difference in microbial community structure between recovered patients and uninfected controls was observed, nor a difference in alpha diversity between the three groups. 24 of the 50 COVID-19 patients (48%) tested positive via RT-qPCR for fecal SARS-CoV-2 RNA. A significant difference in gut microbial composition between SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative samples was observed, with Klebsiella and Agathobacter being enriched in the positive cohort. No significant associations between microbiome composition and disease severity was found. The intestinal microbiota is sensitive to the presence of SARS-CoV-2, with increased relative abundance of genera (Campylobacter, Klebsiella) associated with gastrointestinal (GI) disease. Further studies are needed to investigate the functional impact of SARS-CoV-2 on GI health.

Preclinical data demonstrate that the gut microbiota can promote pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that intestinal microbiota alters anti-tumor innate immunity response to facilitate PDAC progression. Human PDAC L3.6pl cells were heterotopically implanted into Rag1 −/− mice after microbiota depletion with antibiotics, while syngeneic murine PDAC Pan02 cells were implanted intrapancreatic into germ-free (GF) C57BL/6 J mice. Natural killer (NK) cells and their IFNγ expression were quantitated by flow cytometry. NK cells were depleted in vivo using anti-Asialo GM1 antibody to confirm the role of NK cells. Bacteria-free supernatant from SPF and GF mice feces was used to test its effect on NK-92MI cell anti-tumor response in vitro . SPF and ex-GF mice (reconstituted with SPF microbiota) developed larger PDAC tumors with decreased NK cell tumor infiltration and IFNγ expression versus GF- Rag1 −/− . Microbiota-induced PDAC tumorigenesis was attenuated by antibiotic exposure, a process reversed following NK cell depletion in both Rag1 −/− and C57BL/6 J mice. Compared to GF, SPF- Rag1 −/− abiotic stool culture supernatant inhibited NK-92MI cytotoxicity, migration, and anti-cancer related gene expression. Gut microbiota promotes PDAC tumor progression through modulation of the intratumoral infiltration and activity of NK cells.

ResumenEn este trabajo abordaremos, desde una perspectiva antropológica, la "campaña por los derechos de la niñez y la adolescencia indígena" lanzada por UNICEF Argentina en 2009, con el fi n de problematizar las construcciones de niñez, de la cuestión indígena y de la noción de "derechos" que allí se ponen en juego. Distanciándonos de concepciones ontológicas sobre los derechos humanos, analizaremos esta campaña en tanto dispositivo cuyo efecto es la construcción de los niños indígenas como sujetos de derechos de maneras específi cas. Para ello, indagamos en el modo en que fue ésta elaborada, así como en sus contenidos, procurando explicar qué derechos y qué representaciones de los niños indígenas se visibilizaron a través de ella y las tensiones suscitadas en su proceso de armado y presentación. Palabras clave: Derechos humanos; niñez; pueblos indígenas; organismos internacionales. To the Rescue of Indigenous Children. Anthropological Refl ections Stemming from a UNICEF Campaign in Argentina AbstractThis article presents an anthropological approach to the "Campaign for the Indigenous Children and Adolescents' Rights" launched by UNICEF Argentina in September 2009, with the purpose of analyzing the social constructions of childhood, of indigenous issues and the meanings of "rights" that are there implied. Far from human rights´ ontological perspectives, we address this Campaign as a mechanism that constructs the idea of indigenous children as subjects of rights in specifi c ways. For this purpose, we examine the making process of the Campaign and its contents, attempting to clarify the precise rights and