In vivo porcine multi-omics integration identifies microbiome-driven histamine elevation and lasting gut perturbations following Ascaris suum infection and fenbendazole treatment.

Ascaris suum infection causes lasting changes in pig gut microbiome and metabolite profiles, including a 79% increase in histamine production after fenbendazole treatment.

• Why it matters: Understanding how parasite infections and treatments affect the gut microbiome is crucial for improving therapeutic strategies and managing host health, yet these effects remain poorly characterized.
• What they did: The study used integrated multi-omics and in vitro validation to analyze infection- and treatment-related alterations in microbial composition, metabolites, and host gene expression in pigs, including 182 dysregulated metabolites and microbial pathway enrichment.
• The result: Findings suggest that infection-associated microbiome changes can persist after treatment, with increased histamine production linked to microbiome shifts, highlighting the complexity of host-microbiota-parasite interactions and implications for future anthelmintic development.