inflammation
Inflammation refers to the biological defense response triggered in tissues by pathogens, physical damage, toxins, or stress, characterized by heat, swelling, redness, pain, and loss of function. While classically studied in animals, analogous defense responses in plants involve localized cell signaling, reactive oxygen species production, and tissue-level immune activation following wounding or infection. Understanding these parallel mechanisms helps researchers decode how plants mount systemic resistance and develop targeted strategies for improving crop resilience against pests and disease.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-01
Researchers found that gut bacteria differences between two mouse populations predict how severely they develop a condition similar to inflammatory bowel disease. Certain gut bacterial byproducts (metabolites) were linked to either protection from or susceptibility to gut inflammation.
Mice from Charles River labs had higher levels of a specific immune cell type (Th17) and gut antibodies, making them more susceptible to chemically induced colitis than Jackson lab mice.
Co-housing susceptible and resistant mice transferred increased disease susceptibility, directly implicating the microbiome as the driver rather than genetics.
Targeted metabolomics identified specific gut bacterial metabolites that were either positively or negatively correlated with colitis severity, suggesting biomarker potential.