Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2012 Nov;28(6):563-9. doi: 10.1097/MOG.0b013e3283573017.
The prevalence of allergic diseases continues to rise globally in developed countries. Since the initial proposal of the hygiene hypothesis, there has been increasing evidence to suggest that the intestinal microbiota, particularly during early infancy, plays a critical role in regulating immune responses associated with the development of atopy. This review evaluates the key epidemiologic and mechanistic data published to date.
Epidemiological data have provided the framework for animal studies investigating the importance of gut commensals in allergy development. These studies provide new insights about the microbial regulation of mucosal immune responses inside and outside the gut, and how these effects may drive allergic inflammation in susceptible individuals. Specific immune cells have been identified as mediators of these microbiota-regulated allergic responses.
In the last year, technological advances have provided us with a better understanding of the gut microbiome in healthy and allergic individuals. Recent studies have identified the associations between particular gut microbes and different disease phenotypes, as well as identified immune cells and their mediators involved in allergy development. This research has provided a number of host and microbe targets that may be used to develop novel therapies suitable for the treatment or prevention of allergic diseases.
在发达国家，过敏性疾病的患病率在全球范围内持续上升。自卫生假说最初提出以来，越来越多的证据表明，肠道微生物群，特别是在婴儿早期，在调节与特应性发展相关的免疫反应方面起着关键作用。这篇综述评估了迄今为止发表的关键的流行病学和机制数据。
流行病学数据为研究肠道共生菌在过敏发展中的重要性的动物研究提供了框架。这些研究提供了关于肠道内和肠道外黏膜免疫反应的微生物调节的新见解，以及这些效应如何在易感个体中引发过敏炎症。已经确定了特定的免疫细胞作为这些微生物群调节的过敏反应的介质。
在过去的一年中，技术的进步使我们更好地了解了健康和过敏个体的肠道微生物组。最近的研究已经确定了特定肠道微生物与不同疾病表型之间的关联，以及参与过敏发展的免疫细胞及其介质。这项研究提供了许多宿主和微生物靶点，可用于开发适合治疗或预防过敏性疾病的新型疗法。
