Abstract
The human intestine is colonized by a complex microbial ecosystem, which could be considered as a separate organ within the human host, having a coding capacity which exceeds the liver by a factor 100. On the one hand, this extensive microbiome is closely involved in the first-pass metabolism and bioavailability of food and drug compounds. Understanding to which extent each individual ’ s gut microbiota affects the bioavailability and response to orally administered drugs is therefore a first important challenge towards novel drug development strategies. On the other hand, as our microbiota is directly or indirectly involved in the onset of a number of disease states, a new generation of therapeutics may be developed that affect the structure and functioning of the intestinal microbiota and interfere with their specific cross-talk with the human host. Ultimately, the intestinal microbiota may even be used as a biomarker for impending diseases inside or outside the gastrointestinal tract and for the evaluation of responses to specific therapeutic interventions. This review will therefore highlight the importance of the indigenous microbial community and its enormous metabolic potential, microbe-microbe interactions, mechanisms of host-bacterium cross-talk and will discuss the onset of obesity, a specific disease state in which the role of intestinal bacteria becomes more and more apparent. Understanding the importance of the intestinal ecosystem in these phenomena may open the door for new strategies which target the management of the intestinal microbiome into the desired direction and therefore to a completely new type of nutrition research and pharmaceutical design.
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: The Intestinal Environment in Health and Disease – Recent Insights on the Potential of Intestinal Bacteria to Influence Human Health
Volume: 15 Issue: 18
Author(s): Sam Possemiers, Charlotte Grootaert, Joan Vermeiren, Gabriele Gross, Massimo Marzorati, Willy Verstraete and Tom Van de Wiele
Affiliation:
Abstract: The human intestine is colonized by a complex microbial ecosystem, which could be considered as a separate organ within the human host, having a coding capacity which exceeds the liver by a factor 100. On the one hand, this extensive microbiome is closely involved in the first-pass metabolism and bioavailability of food and drug compounds. Understanding to which extent each individual ’ s gut microbiota affects the bioavailability and response to orally administered drugs is therefore a first important challenge towards novel drug development strategies. On the other hand, as our microbiota is directly or indirectly involved in the onset of a number of disease states, a new generation of therapeutics may be developed that affect the structure and functioning of the intestinal microbiota and interfere with their specific cross-talk with the human host. Ultimately, the intestinal microbiota may even be used as a biomarker for impending diseases inside or outside the gastrointestinal tract and for the evaluation of responses to specific therapeutic interventions. This review will therefore highlight the importance of the indigenous microbial community and its enormous metabolic potential, microbe-microbe interactions, mechanisms of host-bacterium cross-talk and will discuss the onset of obesity, a specific disease state in which the role of intestinal bacteria becomes more and more apparent. Understanding the importance of the intestinal ecosystem in these phenomena may open the door for new strategies which target the management of the intestinal microbiome into the desired direction and therefore to a completely new type of nutrition research and pharmaceutical design.
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Cite this article as:
Possemiers Sam, Grootaert Charlotte, Vermeiren Joan, Gross Gabriele, Marzorati Massimo, Verstraete Willy and de Wiele Van Tom, The Intestinal Environment in Health and Disease – Recent Insights on the Potential of Intestinal Bacteria to Influence Human Health, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2009; 15 (18) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788489159
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788489159 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
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