WikiBiomeThe human microbiome encyclopediaRanked matches across titles, topics, categories, and article introductions, filtered to mechanism.
Nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB) is a family of transcription factors that regulate inflammation, immune responses, cell survival, and proliferation. NF-kB is a convergence point where metal toxicity, pathogen signaling, and chronic…
The bacterial contamination hypothesis proposes that bacterial endotoxin (LPS) contamination of menstrual blood and endometrial tissue is a key driver of endometriosis pathogenesis. First formalized by Khan et al. (2018), this hypothesis shifts endometriosis from a pure…
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is the inducible enzyme that converts arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H₂ — the precursor of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), prostacyclin, and thromboxane. Unlike COX-1 (constitutive, homeostatic), COX-2 is transcriptionally induced by nf kappa b duri…
Dysmenorrhea -- painful menstruation -- is the most common gynecological complaint, affecting 50-90% of reproductive-age women. It is classified as primary (no identifiable pelvic pathology) or secondary (caused by conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, or fibro…
Endotoxemia is the presence of bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) in the bloodstream. Metabolic endotoxemia — chronic, low-grade LPS translocation from the gut — is a central mechanism linking dysbiosis to systemic disease across dozens of conditions in this …
Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) is a master pro-inflammatory cytokine and the primary product of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Unlike IL-6 and TNF-alpha (which are transcriptionally regulated by nf kappa b), IL-1β requires a two-step activation: (1) NF-kB-driven transcription of p…
IL-8 (CXCL8) is the primary neutrophil chemokine — it recruits neutrophils to infection sites and activates their antimicrobial functions (oxidative burst, degranulation, NET formation). In the WikiBiome context, IL-8 is notable for its vulnerability to gingipain degrad…
Interleukin-6 is a pleiotropic cytokine that sits at the crossroads of innate immunity, adaptive immunity, and metabolism. It is one of the most frequently elevated inflammatory mediators across conditions in this wiki — appearing in disease signatures spanning IBD, aut…
Microglia are the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, constituting 5-12% of all brain cells. They function as the brain's surveillance and defense system -- scanning for damage, clearing debris, pruning synapses during development, and mounting inflamma…
Systemic inflammation is the state in which inflammatory mediators — IL-6, TNF-alpha, CRP, IL-1beta — circulate throughout the body rather than remaining confined to a local injury site. In the WikiBiome framework, systemic inflammation is the final common pathway throu…
Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is a cell-surface pattern-recognition receptor in the toll like receptors family. It is best known for detecting particular forms of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) through a receptor complex and converting that detection into innate immun…
Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a master pro-inflammatory cytokine produced primarily by macrophages, along with dendritic cells, T cells, and adipocytes. With 483 mentions across 262 files, TNF-alpha is the most referenced inflammatory mediator in the WikiBi…
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that form the front line of the innate immune system. They detect conserved molecular patterns from microbes -- pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) -- and damage-associated molecu…