System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Journal Article Review Epublish 21 citations

PubMed: 38612860 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25074051

Microbiota and Immunity during Respiratory Infections: Lung and Gut Affair.

Int J Mol Sci 25(7)

Authors: Veronica Marrella, Federico Nicchiotti, Barbara Cassani

Affiliations

  • UOS Milan Unit, Istituto di Ricerca Genetica e Biomedica (IRGB), CNR, 20138 Milan, Italy.
  • IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, 20089 Milan, Italy.
  • Department of Medical Biotechnologies and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20089 Milan, Italy.

Abstract

Bacterial and viral respiratory tract infections are the most common infectious diseases, leading to worldwide morbidity and mortality. In the past 10 years, the importance of lung microbiota emerged in the context of pulmonary diseases, although the mechanisms by which it impacts the intestinal environment have not yet been fully identified. On the contrary, gut microbial dysbiosis is associated with disease etiology or/and development in the lung. In this review, we present an overview of the lung microbiome modifications occurring during respiratory infections, namely, reduced community diversity and increased microbial burden, and of the downstream consequences on host-pathogen interaction, inflammatory signals, and cytokines production, in turn affecting the disease progression and outcome. Particularly, we focus on the role of the gut-lung bidirectional communication in shaping inflammation and immunity in this context, resuming both animal and human studies. Moreover, we discuss the challenges and possibilities related to novel microbial-based (probiotics and dietary supplementation) and microbial-targeted therapies (antibacterial monoclonal antibodies and bacteriophages), aimed to remodel the composition of resident microbial communities and restore health. Finally, we propose an outlook of some relevant questions in the field to be answered with future research, which may have translational relevance for the prevention and control of respiratory infections.

MeSH

Respiratory Tract Infections, Bacteria, Dysbiosis, Microbiota, Immunity, Mucosal, Lung, Host-Pathogen Interactions

Cited by