WikiBiomeThe human microbiome encyclopediaRanked matches across titles, topics, categories, and article introductions, filtered to mechanism.
Arachidonic acid (AA) is a 20-carbon omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (20:4n-6) that serves as the primary substrate for prostaglandin and leukotriene synthesis via COX-2 and 5-LOX pathways. It is the dominant pro-inflammatory lipid mediator — and its balance with ant…
Measurable indicators of biological state, exposure, or disease. In the metallomics context, biomarkers span three interconnected domains: metal biomarkers (quantifying exposure and body burden), microbiome biomarkers (reflecting microbial community disruption), and met…
Drug repurposing (also called drug repositioning) is the strategy of identifying new therapeutic uses for existing approved drugs. It dramatically accelerates the path from bench to bedside because safety, pharmacokinetics, and manufacturing are already established. In …
Ferroptosis is a form of iron-dependent regulated cell death driven by the accumulation of lipid peroxides on cellular membranes pendergrass 2026 microbial metallomics parkinsons ferroptosis, riederer 2021 iron concert master parkinsons. Unlike apoptosis or necrosis, fe…
The gut-thyroid axis describes the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiome and the thyroid gland. The thyroid regulates metabolism, energy homeostasis, and immune function -- and the microbiome influences thyroid physiology at every level: mineral absorpt…
Hyperandrogenism -- the clinical or biochemical excess of androgens (testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA-S) -- is a defining feature of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), affecting 60-80% of women with the condition. It manifests as hirsutism, acne, androgenic alopecia, …
Interleukin-17 (primarily IL-17A and IL-17F) is the signature cytokine of Th17 cells. At physiological levels, IL-17 maintains mucosal barrier defense by recruiting neutrophils and inducing antimicrobial peptide production. At pathological levels (Th17/Treg imbalance), …
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…
A metal ion that activates estrogen receptors and mimics the biological effects of estradiol. Metalloestrogens represent a distinct class of endocrine-disrupting compounds where the active agent is an inorganic metal rather than an organic xenoestrogen like BPA or phtha…
Metallomics is the systematic study of metals and metalloids in a biological system. The metallome is the set of metal and metalloid species present in a defined organism, tissue, cell, fluid, or microbial community; metallomics is the measurement and interpretation of …
The oral microbiome is the second most complex microbial community in the human body after the gut, harboring ~700 species across distinct niches (tongue, buccal mucosa, gingival crevice, saliva, dental plaque). While traditionally studied in the context of dental disea…
Oxygen state is a master ecological variable in the gut that determines which microorganisms thrive and which are excluded. The healthy colon maintains a steep oxygen gradient — oxygenated tissue at the epithelial surface drops to near-anaerobic conditions in the lumen,…
Shotgun metagenomics is a sequencing approach that fragments and sequences all DNA in a sample -- bacterial, archaeal, fungal, viral, and host -- without prior amplification of a specific gene target. Unlike 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, which identifies "who is there" …
TGF-beta is a pleiotropic cytokine with dual roles: immunosuppressive (driving regulatory T cell [Treg] differentiation and maintaining immune tolerance) and pro-fibrotic (promoting extracellular matrix deposition, wound healing, and tissue fibrosis). In the WikiBiome c…
This page serves as a redirect and cross-reference point for the comprehensive virome concept page, which covers the gut virome, bacteriophage-bacteria interactions, phage therapy, and virome-disease associations in detail. The term viral microbiota emphasizes that viru…
The virome is the collection of all viruses inhabiting a given ecosystem -- in the gut, this means primarily bacteriophages (phages), which constitute ~90% of the intestinal virome. While microbiome research has historically focused on bacteria, mounting evidence shows …