Interaction between the microbiome and the immune system

The gut microbiome has received considerable attention in the general media and scientific literature, and a pattern between loss of diversity of the microbiome and several chronic illnesses is emerging. In fact, an increasingly solid body of literature reveals how the microbiome modulates our health, risk of several conditions and even our behaviour. Research focussing on the interactions between the microbiome and the function of the immune system in particular has yielded important new insights that have deepened the understanding of the development of several diseases. The microbiome plays a key role in the dysregulated host response that defines sepsis, inflammation in cardio-metabolic diseases and loss of self-tolerance in auto-immune disorders. These distinct conditions are all three characterized by dysbiosis, altered gut-permeability and an altered balance between the innate and adaptive immune system. This axis may be targetable and several clinical studies are evaluating whether interventions targeting the gut microbiome may improve outcomes in these diseases.