Involvement of gut microbiome in human health and disease: brief overview, knowledge gaps and research opportunities

Abstract

The commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microbial community which resides inside our body and on our skin (the human microbiome) can perturb host energy metabolism and immunity, and thus significantly influence development of a variety of human diseases. Therefore, the field has attracted unprecedented attention in the last decade. Although a large amount of data has been generated, there are still many unanswered questions and no universal agreements on how microbiome affects human health have been agreed upon. Consequently, this review was written to provide an updated overview of the rapidly expanding field, with a focus on revealing knowledge gaps and research opportunities. Specifically, the review covered animal physiology, optimal microbiome standard, health intervention by manipulating microbiome, knowledge base building by text mining, microbiota community structure and its implications in human diseases and health monitoring by analyzing microbiome in the blood. The review should enhance interest in conducting novel microbiota investigations that will further improve health and therapy.

Microbiome diurnal rhythmicity and its impact on host physiology and disease risk

“…The complexity and composition of microbiomes colonizing various barrier tissues of the human body varies, even more so between individuals . Recent years have seen a remarkable progress in our understanding of the role the human microbiome plays in health and disease (for comprehensive reviews see ). Briefly, the “forgotten organ” of gut microbiome was shown to be involved in almost all facets of human health: in the maturation and continued education of the host immune response , as an effector of host metabolism, including energy harvest from food and changing host propensity toward weight gain , as a contributor to host metabolic homeostasis , but also in providing protection against pathogen overgrowth and influencing host‐cell proliferation and gut vascularization , regulating neurologic signaling and bone density , providing a source of energy biogenesis , biosynthesizing vitamins and neurotransmitters , metabolizing bile salts, thereby reacting to or modifying drugs, and eliminating exogenous toxins .…”

Fecal microbiota as a noninvasive biomarker to predict the tissue iron accumulation in intestine epithelial cells and liver

“…1 The dysbiosis implies the disruption of host immune system and metabolism, leading to disease development and progression. 2,3 Although the composition of gut microbiota has been associated with the genetic profile of the host, as seen in twins, exposure to different environmental conditions significantly perturbs microbial homeostasis. 4 Among these factors, dietary pattern shapes the microenvironment of the gut bacteria and further influences the microbial diversity.…”

Dietary polysaccharides: fermentation potentials of a primitive gut ecosystem

“…Gut microbial communities are of interest because of their importance to animal performance and health (Shreiner et al, 2015;Blake and Suchodolski, 2016;Fouhse et al, 2016;Liang et al, 2018). Fossil evidence indicates that the ancestral lineage of worm-like triploblastic metazoans and annelids existed 0.5-1.1 billion years ago (Seilacher, 1998;Morris and Peel, 2008).…”