Gaskins H Rex, Croix Jennifer A, Nakamura Noriko, Nava Gerardo M
Departments of Animal Sciences and Pathobiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Clin Infect Dis. 2008 Feb 1;46 Suppl 2:S80-6; discussion S144-51. doi: 10.1086/523336.
The gastrointestinal tract is a dynamic ecosystem composed of an organized matrix of host eukaryotic cells, including a fully functional immune system, and numerous microbial habitats normally colonized by a diverse array of microbes. Recent analyses of the gastrointestinal microbiota by use of molecular-based methods indicate that bacterial populations vary substantially among but appear relatively stable within individuals. These observations raise many important questions about the role of the normal microbiota in the development of both the innate and the adaptive immune systems of the host and about how perturbations in this relationship may contribute to various intestinal or immunologic disorders. Here, 3 critical issues pertaining to the intestinal microbiota are briefly reviewed: what are the microbes, where are the microbes, and what controls the composition of the microbiota.
胃肠道是一个动态的生态系统，由宿主真核细胞的有组织基质组成，包括一个功能完备的免疫系统，以及众多通常被各种各样微生物定殖的微生物栖息地。最近使用基于分子的方法对胃肠道微生物群进行的分析表明，细菌群体在个体之间差异很大，但在个体内部似乎相对稳定。这些观察结果引发了许多重要问题，涉及正常微生物群在宿主固有免疫系统和适应性免疫系统发育中的作用，以及这种关系中的扰动如何可能导致各种肠道或免疫疾病。在此，简要回顾与肠道微生物群相关的3个关键问题：微生物是什么、微生物在哪里，以及是什么控制了微生物群的组成。
