The human microbiome project at ten years - some critical comments and reflections on “our third genome”, the human virome

Abstract

The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has raised great expectations claiming the far-reaching influence of the microbiome on human health and disease ranging from obesity and malnutrition to effects going well beyond the gut. So far, with the notable exception of fecal microbiota transplantation in Clostridioides difficile infection, practical application of microbiome intervention has only achieved modest clinical effects. It is argued here that we need criteria for the link between microbiome and disease modelled on the links between pathogens and infectious disease in Koch’s postulates. The most important question is whether the microbiome change is a cause of the given disease or a consequence of a pathology leading to disease where the microbiome change is only a parallel event without a causal connection to the disease – in philosophical parlance, an epiphenomenon. Also discussed here is whether human virome research is a necessary complement to the microbiome project with a high potential for practical applications.

Targeted Nanoparticle-Based Diagnostic and Treatment Options for Pancreatic Cancer

“…Studies have indicated that alterations in the microbiota composition, known as dysbiosis, may influence the development, progression, and prognosis of Pancreatic cancer. The Human Microbiome Project has shed light on the impact of microbial communities on human health and disease, including cancer [103]. Advanced biological technologies such as high-throughput sequencing, transcriptomics, and metabolomics have enabled researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the role of the microbiome in pancreatic cancer [104,105].…”

Prophages: an integral but understudied component of the human microbiome

“…Most body sites typically contain a multitude of microbes resulting in diverse ecosystems. In contrast, sites in the human body dominated by one or a few species -dysbiosis -are often an indicator of disease [5][6][7].…”