Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Jan;140(1):8-14.
doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2010.11.010. Epub 2010 Nov 12.

Probiotics, enteric and diarrheal diseases, and global health

Geoffrey A Preidis  1 , Colin Hill, Richard L Guerrant, B S Ramakrishna, Gerald W Tannock, James Versalovic
Affiliations
Review

Probiotics, enteric and diarrheal diseases, and global health

Geoffrey A Preidis et al. Gastroenterology. 2011 Jan.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The vicious cycle of diarrhea and undernutrition in susceptible children
(A) The devastating synergy between enteric infections and undernutrition is influenced by the environment, the human genome, host nutrition, and the human microbiome. Various interventions (red boxes) may inhibit progression to the next step in the cycle, minimizing both acute and chronic morbidities. (B) Employing a spectrum of disease outcome measures would lend greater insight into the pathology underlying enteric and diarrheal diseases, while providing a more complete understanding of interventions targeting basic steps of enteric and diarrheal disease pathogenesis. Adapted with permission from Wiley: Nutrition Reviews,4 copyright 2008. http://www.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1753-4887.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Three general mechanisms of probiosis for enteric infections
In direct antagonism, probiotics kill or inhibit the pathogen to limit infection, or they down-regulate the expression of virulence factors, such as adhesins or toxins, required for pathogenesis. Probiotics can also interact with the immune system (immunomodulation) to enhance the functionality of innate and/or adaptive immunity, or to limit the ability of the pathogen to initiate or facilitate an immune response. Through “exclusion,” probiotics can alter the microenvironment to prevent pathogens from gaining access to appropriate receptors, to limit pathogen attachment, entry, or translocation, or to improve barrier function. A beneficial microbe may use a combination of these mechanisms, and may employ different mechanisms against different pathogens. B, B cell; DC, dendritic cell; IEC, intestinal epithelial cell; M, M cell; MAC, macrophage; T, T cell; TJ, tight junction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)/World Health Organization(WHO) Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done. New York: UNICEF; 2009.
    1. Black RE, Cousens S, Johnson HL, et al. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2008: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2010;375:1969–1987. - PubMed
    1. Lopez AD, Mathers CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJ. Global and regional burden of disease and risk factors, 2001: systematic analysis of population health data. Lancet. 2006;367:1747–1757. - PubMed
    1. Guerrant RL, Oria RB, Moore SR, Oria MO, Lima AA. Malnutrition as an enteric infectious disease with long-term effects on child development. Nutr Rev. 2008;66:487–505. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Checkley W, Buckley G, Gilman RH, et al. Multi-country analysis of the effects of diarrhoea on childhood stunting. Int J Epidemiol. 2008;37:816–830. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types