Host defence against infection requires a range of innate and adaptive immune responses that may lead to tissue damage. Such immune-mediated pathologies can be controlled with appropriate T regulatory (Treg) activity. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of gut microbiota composition on Treg cellular activity and NF-κB activation associated with infection. Mice consumed the commensal microbe Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 followed by infection with Salmonella typhimurium or injection with LPS. In vivo NF-κB activation was quantified using biophotonic imaging. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cell phenotypes and cytokine levels were assessed using flow cytometry while CD4+ T cells were isolated using magnetic beads for adoptive transfer to naïve animals. In vivo imaging revealed profound inhibition of infection and LPS induced NF-κB activity that preceded a reduction in S. typhimurium numbers and murine sickness behaviour scores in B. infantis–fed mice. In addition, pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, T cell proliferation, and dendritic cell co-stimulatory molecule expression were significantly reduced. In contrast, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cell numbers were significantly increased in the mucosa and spleen of mice fed B. infantis. Adoptive transfer of CD4+CD25+ T cells transferred the NF-κB inhibitory activity. Consumption of a single commensal micro-organism drives the generation and function of Treg cells which control excessive NF-κB activation in vivo. These cellular interactions provide the basis for a more complete understanding of the commensal-host-pathogen trilogue that contribute to host homeostatic mechanisms underpinning protection against aberrant activation of the innate immune system in response to a translocating pathogen or systemic LPS.

Nutritional supplementation with fish oil or ω‐3 (n‐3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has potential benefits for skin inflammation. Although the differential metabolism of the main n‐3PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) could lead to distinct activities, there are no clinical studies comparing their relative efficacy in human skin. Following a 10‐wk oral supplementation of healthy volunteers and using mass spectrometry‐based lipidomics, we found that n‐3PUFA mainly affected the epidermal mediator lipidome. EPA was more efficient than DHA in reducing production of arachidonic acid–derived lipids, and both n‐3PUFA lowered N‐acyl ethanolamines. In UV radiation–challenged skin (3 times the minimum erythemal dose), EPA attenuated the production of proinflammatory lipids, whereas DHA abrogated the migration of Langerhans cells, as assessed by immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, n‐3PUFA increased the infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells but did not alter the erythemal response, either the sunburn threshold or the resolution of erythema, as assessed by spectrophotometric hemoglobin index readings. As EPA and DHA differentially impact cutaneous inflammation through changes in the network of epidermal lipids and dendritic and infiltrating immune cells, they should be considered separately when designing interventions for cutaneous disease.—Kendall, A. C., Pilkington, S. M., Murphy, S. A., Del Carratore, F., Sunarwidhi, A. L., Kiezel‐Tsugunova, M., Urquhart, P., Watson, R. E. B., Breitling, R., Rhodes, L. E., Nicolaou, A. Dynamics of the human skin mediator lipidome in response to dietary ω‐3 fatty acid supplementation. FASEB J. 33, 13014–13027 (2019). http://www.fasebj.org

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) during pregnancy can result in fetal overgrowth, likely due to placental dysfunction, which has health consequences for the infant. Here we test our prediction from previous work using a placental cell line that high glucose concentrations affect placental lipid metabolism. Placentas from women with type 1 (n = 13), type 2 (n = 6) or gestational (n = 12) DM, BMI-matched to mothers without DM (n = 18), were analysed for lipase and fatty acid transport proteins and fatty acid and triglyceride content. Explants from uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 6) cultured in physiological or high glucose were similarly analysed. High glucose levels did not alter placental lipase or transporter expression or the profile and abundance of fatty acids, but triglyceride levels were higher (p < 0.05), suggesting reduced β- oxidation. DM did not affect placental protein expression or fatty acid profile. Triglyceride levels of placentas from mothers with pre-existing DM were similar to controls, but higher in obese women with gestational DM. Maternal hyperglycemia may not affect placental fatty acid uptake and transport. However, placental β-oxidation is affected by high glucose and reduced in a subset of women with DM. Abnormal placental lipid metabolism could contribute to increased maternal-fetal lipid transfer and excess fetal growth in some DM pregnancies.