Yang Liying, Pei Zhiheng
World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Nov 14;12(42):6741-6. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i42.6741.
Our relationship with the colonic bacterial flora has long been viewed as benign, but recent studies suggest that this symbiosis has risks as well as benefits. This relationship requires that the host not only provide a supportive environment for the symbiotic bacteria, but also actively maintain intact mechanisms for properly managing the physiologic stresses that are closely associated with the symbiont's essential survival functions. Failure to do so breaches the host-symbiont contract, and can result in serious effects on the health of the host. Recent investigations that employ several knockout mouse models reveal the consequences of genetic deficiency in the host regarding these mechanisms, and the latent, pro-inflammatory, tumorigenic nature of normal bacterial flora. Further study of the interactions between normal bacterial flora and hosts could shed light on the etiologies and pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases and related cancers, with implications for human health.
长期以来，我们与结肠细菌菌群的关系一直被视为良性的，但最近的研究表明，这种共生关系既有风险也有益处。这种关系要求宿主不仅要为共生细菌提供有利的环境，还要积极维持完整的机制，以妥善应对与共生体基本生存功能密切相关的生理压力。如果做不到这一点，就会破坏宿主与共生体之间的契约，并可能对宿主健康产生严重影响。最近利用几种基因敲除小鼠模型进行的研究揭示了宿主在这些机制方面基因缺陷的后果，以及正常细菌菌群潜在的促炎、致瘤特性。对正常细菌菌群与宿主之间相互作用的进一步研究，可能有助于阐明炎症性疾病和相关癌症的病因及发病机制，对人类健康具有重要意义。
