Role of the microbiome in human development

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Abstract

The host-microbiome supraorganism appears to have coevolved and the unperturbed microbial component of the dyad renders host health sustainable. This coevolution has likely shaped evolving phenotypes in all life forms on this predominantly microbial planet. The microbiota seems to exert effects on the next generation from gestation, via maternal microbiota and immune responses. The microbiota ecosystems develop, restricted to their epithelial niches by the host immune system, concomitantly with the host chronological development, providing early modulation of physiological host development and functions for nutrition, immunity and resistance to pathogens at all ages. Here, we review the role of the microbiome in human development, including evolutionary considerations, and the maternal/fetal relationships, contributions to nutrition and growth. We also discuss what constitutes a healthy microbiota, how antimicrobial modern practices are impacting the human microbiota, the associations between microbiota perturbations, host responses and diseases rocketing in urban societies and potential for future restoration.

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Most cited references 73

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Mercedes Gomez de Agüero, Stephanie C Ganal-Vonarburg, Tobias Fuhrer … (2016)

Postnatal colonization of the body with microbes is assumed to be the main stimulus to postnatal immune development. By transiently colonizing pregnant female mice, we show that the maternal microbiota shapes the immune system of the offspring. Gestational colonization increases intestinal group 3 innate lymphoid cells and F4/80(+)CD11c(+) mononuclear cells in the pups. Maternal colonization reprograms intestinal transcriptional profiles of the offspring, including increased expression of genes encoding epithelial antibacterial peptides and metabolism of microbial molecules. Some of these effects are dependent on maternal antibodies that potentially retain microbial molecules and transmit them to the offspring during pregnancy and in milk. Pups born to mothers transiently colonized in pregnancy are better able to avoid inflammatory responses to microbial molecules and penetration of intestinal microbes.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Gut

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Gut

Journal ID (hwp): gutjnl

Journal ID (publisher-id): gut

Title: Gut

Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group (BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JR )

ISSN (Print): 0017-5749

ISSN (Electronic): 1468-3288

Publication date (Print): June 2019

Publication date (Electronic): 22 January 2019

Volume: 68

Issue: 6

Pages: 1108-1114

Affiliations

[1 ] departmentDepartment of Biochemistry and Microbiology , Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

[2 ] departmentDepartment of Microbiology and Medical Zoology , University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine , San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

[3 ] departmentDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering , University of California , San Diego, California, USA

[4 ] departmentDepartment of Medicine , New York University Langone Medical Center , New York City, New York, USA

Author notes

[Correspondence to ] Professor Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA; mg.dominguez-bello@ 123456rutgers.edu

Article

Publisher ID: gutjnl-2018-317503

DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2018-317503

PMC ID: 6580755

PubMed ID: 30670574

SO-VID: f1c60e8e-20e4-435c-a159-ffc5fd7f38ab

License:

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.