Interactive Probiotics

This book underlines the importance of reciprocal interactions between probiotics and humans in terms of stress induction, epigenetic control of cellular responses, oxidative status, bioactive molecules biosynthesis, moonlighting proteins secretion, endogenous toxins neutralization, and several other biological functions. It explores how these responses can affect metabolism and metabolic-related disorders, gutbrain axis balance, mood, inflammatory, allergic and anti-infective reactions, cancer, and ageing. The book explores how probiotics create a dynamic and "fluid" network of signals able to control the balance between healthy and altered human status.

Preface, 1. Probiotic Social Life, Biochemical Cross-talk and Ecological Relationships Among Bacteria, 2. Fighting Off Human Infections: A New Role for Bacteriocin Molecules, 3. Lactic Acid Bacteria to Modulate Virulence Expression in Pathogenic Bacteria: An Alternative to Killing?, 4. Probiotic-Mediated Modulation of Host Gene Expression, 5. Bifidobacteria and their Interaction with the Gastrointestinal Environment, 6. New Probiotics: Dairy Propionibacteria and the Modulation of Gut Microbiota and Physiology, 7. Neuro-active Compounds Produced by Probiotics: Towards a Microbiota-(Gut-) Brain Axis Control?, 8. Nutraceutical and Antioxidant Potential of Probiotics: The Case of Selenium Fixing Bacteria and Selenium Enriched Yeasts, 9. The Double Face of Bacteria and the Ambiguous Role of Some Probiotics, 10. Probiotics Meets Proteomics: How Proteomics Can Contribute to Risk Assessment and Biomolecular Understanding, 11. Prebiotic Enhancement of Probiotic Potential: Oligosaccharides Triggering Modification of Protein Profiles in Lactic Acid Bacteria, Index, Color Plate Section

Enrica Pessione