Friday, January 15, 2021 NIAID Microbiota Study Identifies Nutrient that Helps Prevent Bacterial Infection NIAID scientists studying the body's natural defenses against bacterial infection have identified a nutrient—taurine—that helps the gut recall prior infections and kill invading bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kpn). The finding, published in Cell, could aid efforts seeking alternatives to antibiotics. Scientists know that microbiota—the trillions of beneficial microbes living harmoniously inside our gut—can protect people from bacterial infections. Here they observed that microbiota that had experienced prior infection and transferred to germ-free mice helped prevent infection with Kpn. Further analysis led them to identify taurine as the trigger for fighting infection. Taurine helps the body digest fats and oils and is found naturally in bile acids in the gut. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  |  National Institutes of Health Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact Subscriber Help. This service is provided to you at no charge by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).                             This email was sent to myhcistech.healthnews360@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 5601 Fishers Lane · Bethesda, MD 20892 · 1-866-284-4107