Food poisoning / Foodborne illness

Foodborne illness, also known as foodborne disease or food poisoning, is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or Parasites / Parasitism. Additionally, prions (the agents of mad cow disease) and toxins such as aflatoxins in peanuts, Poisonous mushrooms, and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes can also cause foodborne illness.

Gut bacteria break down tryptophan (Trp) in a way that affects these infections (1). In mice, Bacillus velezensis JT3-1 increased Lactobacillus and Ligilactobacillus in the gut correlating with higher Indole-3-lactate (ILA) levels. It leads to an AhR signal transduction pathway activation. ILA induces a release of Interleukin-22 Receptor (IL-22R) in mouse macrophages. It protected mice from Salmonella enterica enterica serovar Typhimurium by raising IL-22 in Ahr^+^/− mice, but not in Ahr^−^/− mice. Feeding mice Trp-rich diets helped fight S. Tm infection. This study shows how gut bacteria-derived Trp breakdown products help fight Salmonella Infection / Salmonellosis (1).

References:

(1) Li et al. 2024 J Immunol 212: 57-68

see also:
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) & Indole-3-lactate (ILA)
Gut microbiota & Tryptophan metabolites
Salmonella enterica enterica serovar Typhimurium