Bacterial colonization, probiotics, and clinical disease

J Pediatr. 2006 Nov;149(5 Suppl):S107-14.

Bacterial colonization, probiotics, and clinical disease.

Weng M, Walker WA. From the Development Gastroenterology Laboratory, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA.

With the emergence of the hygiene hypothesis, science has begun to reconsider the role of bacteria in host health. Data from germ-free animals and clinical studies support the idea that the colonization of intestinal flora and bacteria-host cross-talk play pivotal roles in the development of the mucosal immune system. Here we discuss the role of commensal colonizing bacteria and toll-like receptor/nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (TLR/NOD) receptors in the regulation of intestinal immunity and the relationship between TLR/NOD and immune-mediated disease, especially inflammatory bowel disease. We also explore the mechanism of the induction of immune hyporesposiveness by gut epithelial cells interacting with commensal bacteria. A better understanding of bacteria-host interactions will help provide a rational basis for using probiotics as a dietary supplement to prevent and treat disease in the future.

PMID: 17212952 [PubMed - in process]