Year: 2018
Type: review
Abstract: The mammalian intestine harbors a highly complex and abundant ensemble of bacteria that flourish in a nutrient-rich environment while profoundly influencing many aspects of host biology. The intestine coevolved with its resident microbes in a manner where the mucosa developed a barrier function to segregate the resident microbes from the rest of the body, and yet paradoxically, allowing integration of microbial signals for the host benefit. In this review, we provided a comprehensive overview of why the gut microbiota is key to the efficient development and maintenance of the intestinal barrier. We also highlighted how a destabilized equilibrium between gut microbiota and the host may eventuate in a wide range of intestinal diseases characterized by the disrupted intestinal barrier. Finally, the review delineated how microenvironmental changes in the injured mucosa result in an enrichment of a pro-regenerating consortium of bacteria, which augments mucosal wound repair and restoration of barrier functions.
Source: Tissue Barriers
Authors: Ashfaqul Alam, Andrew Neish
Institution: Emory University
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: Control of Epithelial Proliferation by the Microbiota, Microbially generated protons mediate interkingdom host-microbiome cross-talk and maintain intestinal homeostasis via reciprocal functions of two proton-sensing GPCRs, Microbial Influence on Mucosal Homeostasis, Formyl peptide receptors as mediators of intestinal mucosal homeostasis
OpenAlex ID: W2899740161