Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Physiol Rev. 2010 Jul;90(3):859-904. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00045.2009.
Gut microbiota is an assortment of microorganisms inhabiting the length and width of the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. The composition of this microbial community is host specific, evolving throughout an individual's lifetime and susceptible to both exogenous and endogenous modifications. Recent renewed interest in the structure and function of this "organ" has illuminated its central position in health and disease. The microbiota is intimately involved in numerous aspects of normal host physiology, from nutritional status to behavior and stress response. Additionally, they can be a central or a contributing cause of many diseases, affecting both near and far organ systems. The overall balance in the composition of the gut microbial community, as well as the presence or absence of key species capable of effecting specific responses, is important in ensuring homeostasis or lack thereof at the intestinal mucosa and beyond. The mechanisms through which microbiota exerts its beneficial or detrimental influences remain largely undefined, but include elaboration of signaling molecules and recognition of bacterial epitopes by both intestinal epithelial and mucosal immune cells. The advances in modeling and analysis of gut microbiota will further our knowledge of their role in health and disease, allowing customization of existing and future therapeutic and prophylactic modalities.
肠道微生物群是栖息在哺乳动物胃肠道长度和宽度上的微生物的集合。这个微生物群落的组成是宿主特异性的，在个体的一生中不断进化，并对外源和内源性的变化敏感。最近对这个“器官”的结构和功能的重新关注，揭示了它在健康和疾病中的核心地位。微生物群在正常宿主生理学的许多方面都有密切的关系，从营养状态到行为和应激反应。此外，它们可以是许多疾病的主要或次要原因，影响到近和远的器官系统。肠道微生物群落组成的整体平衡，以及关键物种的存在或缺失，这些关键物种能够产生特定的反应，对于确保肠道黏膜和其他部位的内环境稳定或缺乏内环境稳定都很重要。微生物发挥其有益或有害影响的机制在很大程度上仍未确定，但包括信号分子的表达和肠道上皮细胞和黏膜免疫细胞对细菌表位的识别。肠道微生物群建模和分析的进展将进一步加深我们对其在健康和疾病中的作用的认识，从而能够对现有的和未来的治疗和预防模式进行定制。
