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 Apr;9(4):233-43.
doi: 10.1038/nrmicro2536. Epub 2011 Feb 28.

Shifting the balance: antibiotic effects on host-microbiota mutualism

Benjamin P Willing  1 , Shannon L Russell, B Brett Finlay
Affiliations
Review

Shifting the balance: antibiotic effects on host-microbiota mutualism

Benjamin P Willing et al. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2011 Apr.

Abstract

Antibiotics have been used effectively as a means to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals for over half a century. However, through their use, lasting alterations are being made to a mutualistic relationship that has taken millennia to evolve: the relationship between the host and its microbiota. Host-microbiota interactions are dynamic; therefore, changes in the microbiota as a consequence of antibiotic treatment can result in the dysregulation of host immune homeostasis and an increased susceptibility to disease. A better understanding of both the changes in the microbiota as a result of antibiotic treatment and the consequential changes in host immune homeostasis is imperative, so that these effects can be mitigated.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Pharmacotherapy. 2010 Feb;30(2):119-26 - PubMed
    1. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2009 Mar;296(3):G534-42 - PubMed
    1. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2010;74(2):358-63 - PubMed
    1. Nat Rev Immunol. 2009 May;9(5):313-23 - PubMed
    1. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2010 Sep;73(3):601-10 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances