REVIEW  GUT MICROBIOTA AND GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, LIVER AND PANCREAS: FROM PHYSIOLOGY TO PATHOLOGY 

Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica 2017 December;63(4):373-84

DOI: 10.23736/S1121-421X.17.02386-8

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Gut microbiota and inflammatory bowel disease: so far so gut!

Grainne HOLLERAN ^{1, 2}, Loris R. LOPETUSO ¹, Gianluca IANIRO ¹, Silvia PECERE ¹, Marco PIZZOFERRATO ¹, Valentina PETITO ¹, Cristina GRAZIANI ¹, Deirdre McNAMARA ², Antonio GASBARRINI ¹, Franco SCALDAFERRI ¹ ✉

¹ Digestive System, Endocrine and Metabolic System Centre, Gastroenterological Department, “A. Gemelli” Policlinic, “Sacro Cuore” Catholic University, Rome, Italy; ² Department of Clinical Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Major advances have occurred in the knowledge of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) over the last decade, and perhaps the most major, and clinically advantageous of these advances has been the discovery of the microbiome as a key multifaceted component of inflammation. The gut microbiome is the largest known group of cells in the body, and is now recognized as an organ in its own right. Initial studies looking at a possible role of bacterial manipulation of the immune system in IBD, looked at identifying a specific bacterial species, and were not representative of a feasible model of inflammation in IBD overall. More recently there has been a shift towards the concept of dysbiosis, and the acceptance that a number of bacterial factors interact with the immune system in order for inflammation to occur. In the present review we will focus on past perspective of the role of microbiota in IBD, current evidences about dysbiosis in IBD and also the main therapeutic modalities to affect IBD by affecting gut microbiota: probiotics, prebiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation and emerging dietary intervention.

KEY WORDS: Inflammatory bowel diseases - Gastrointestinal microbiome - Fecal microbiota transplantation - Probiotics - Etiology