REVIEW  IMMUNONUTRITION IN PEDIATRICS 

Minerva Pediatrics 2021 April;73(2):115-27

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5276.21.06188-0

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

The role of probiotics and postbiotics in modulating the gut microbiome-immune system axis in the pediatric age

Laura CARUCCI ^{1, 2}, Serena COPPOLA ^{1, 2}, Anna LUZZETTI ^{1, 2}, Veronica GIGLIO ^{1, 2}, Jon VANDERHOOF ³, Roberto BERNI CANANI ^{1, 2, 4, 5} ✉

¹ Department of Translational Medical Science, Federico II University, Naples, Italy; ² ImmunoNutritionLab at CEINGE Advanced Biotechnologies, Federico II University, Naples, Italy; ³ Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; ⁴ European Laboratory for the Investigation of Food-Induced Diseases, Federico II University, Naples, Italy; ⁵ Task Force for Microbiome Studies, Federico II University, Naples, Italy

The complex microbial community of the gut microbiome plays a fundamental role in driving development and function of the human immune system. This phenomenon is named the gut microbiome-immune system axis. When operating optimally, this axis influences both innate and adaptive immunity, which orchestrates the maintenance of crucial elements of host-microorganisms symbiosis, in a dialogue that modulates responses in the most beneficial way. Growing evidence reveals some environmental factors which can positively and negatively modulate the gut microbiome-immune system axis with consequences on the body health status. Several conditions which increasingly affect the pediatric age, such as allergies, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, arise from a failure of the gut microbiome-immune system axis. Prenatal or postnatal modulation of this axis through some interventional strategies (including diet, probiotics and postbiotics), may lead to a positive gene-environment interaction with improvement of immune-modulatory effects and final positive effect on human health. In particular probiotics and postbiotics exerting pleiotropic regulatory actions on the gut-microbiome-immune system axis provide an innovative preventive and therapeutic strategy for many pediatric conditions.

KEY WORDS: Immunity, mucosal; Homeostasis; Dysbiosis