Marchesi Julian, Shanahan Fergus
Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, Departments of Microbiology and Medicine, University College Cork, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland.
Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2007 Oct;20(5):508-13. doi: 10.1097/QCO.0b013e3282a56a99.
Long neglected and considered a difficult ecosystem to study, several developments have recently converged to renew interest in studying the normal gut microbiota. These include molecular methods of studying the microbiota, improved understanding of host-microbe interactions in health and disease, and the potential for therapeutic manipulation of the microbiota. This review focuses on the most recent work in these areas.
Host-microbe signaling in the gut is critical for normal development and homeostasis of the gastrointestinal mucosa. The molecular basis of these interactions promises new therapeutic strategies for various disorders. Particularly noteworthy has been the emergence of evidence for the role of enteric bacterial metabolism in the pathogenesis of disorders ranging from functional and inflammatory bowel diseases to human obesity. Metagenomic and metabolomic profiling of the microbiota, although at an early stage, has demonstrated the range and complexity of the gut ecosystem and cast insights into several diseases. The molecular basis of host-microbe dialogue and the mechanisms by which the host contains enteric bacteria within the lumen has immediate relevance to infectious and chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
Improved understanding of the normal gut microbiota has made the therapeutic manipulation of the gut ecosystem a valid and realistic future prospect.
长期以来被忽视且被认为是一个难以研究的生态系统，最近的几项进展共同激发了对研究正常肠道微生物群的新兴趣。这些进展包括研究微生物群的分子方法、对健康和疾病中宿主 - 微生物相互作用的更好理解以及微生物群治疗性调控的潜力。本综述重点关注这些领域的最新研究工作。
肠道中的宿主 - 微生物信号传导对于胃肠道黏膜的正常发育和稳态至关重要。这些相互作用的分子基础为各种疾病带来了新的治疗策略。特别值得注意的是，越来越多的证据表明肠道细菌代谢在从功能性和炎症性肠病到人类肥胖等各种疾病的发病机制中发挥作用。微生物群的宏基因组学和代谢组学分析虽然尚处于早期阶段，但已展示了肠道生态系统的范围和复杂性，并为多种疾病提供了见解。宿主 - 微生物对话的分子基础以及宿主将肠道细菌限制在肠腔内的机制与感染性和慢性炎症性肠病直接相关。
对正常肠道微生物群的更好理解使肠道生态系统的治疗性调控成为一个有效且现实的未来前景。
