WikiBiomeThe human microbiome encyclopediaRanked matches across titles, topics, categories, and article introductions.
Chitotriosidase (CHIT1) is a human chitinase that degrades chitin — the structural polysaccharide of fungal cell walls, insect exoskeletons, and parasitic helminths. It is the most abundant chitinase in human serum and represents a direct arm of innate nutritional immun…
Defensins are small (29–45 amino acid) cationic antimicrobial peptides that form the first line of chemical defense at mucosal surfaces. Alpha-defensins (HD5, HD6) are produced by Paneth cells in the small intestinal crypts; beta-defensins (hBD1-4) are produced by epith…
The immune system is not a monolith but a dynamic equilibrium between pro-inflammatory effector responses (Th1, Th2, Th17) and anti-inflammatory regulatory responses (Treg, IL-10, TGF-beta). Metals and the microbiome are two of the most potent environmental modulators o…
Innate immunity is the body's first-line, non-specific defense against pathogens — comprising physical barriers (epithelium, mucus), antimicrobial molecules (calprotectin, lactoferrin, defensins), pattern recognition receptors (TLRs, NOD-like receptors), and phagocytic …
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…
Inflammation is a broad concept, but in the metallomics context it has a specific character: heavy metals and pathogens activate overlapping inflammatory pathways, creating convergent pathology where distinguishing the metal contribution from the microbial contribution …
The NLRP3 inflammasome is a host innate-immune signaling complex that connects cellular danger signals to caspase-1 activation. In the canonical pathway represented in WikiBiome's evidence vault, caspase-1 processes the inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and IL-18 and clea…
The strategy by which mammalian hosts withhold essential metals from invading pathogens to limit their growth. Well-established for iron and zinc; underexplored but potentially powerful for nickel.
Peptidoglycan (murein) is the polymer of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylmuramic acid cross-linked by short peptides that forms the bacterial cell wall. It is a major pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) recognized by host TLR2 (intact peptidoglycan), NOD1 (meso…
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…