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
. 2017 Nov;2(2):116-123.
doi: 10.1159/000481401. Epub 2017 Oct 20.

Gut Microbiome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Other Chronic Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases

Charles N Bernstein  1   2 , Jessica D Forbes  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Gut Microbiome in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Other Chronic Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases

Charles N Bernstein et al. Inflamm Intest Dis. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Since the description of the normal human gut microbiome in healthy individuals using broad-range polymerase chain reaction, there has been great advancement in the techniques used to conduct microbiome research and applications of this research across health, gastrointestinal diseases, and nongastrointestinal diseases.

Summary and key messages: In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), studies have reported gut dysbiosis meaning that the microbial composition, diversity, and richness are altered. Persons with IBD harbor on average 25% fewer microbial genes than healthy persons. Reduced diversity has been reported in both the fecal and mucosal microbiome of IBD. Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are systemic diseases with immunological alterations in both intestinal and circulating compartments. As knowledge about the impact of the gut microbiome on the intestinal and systemic immune response has grown, researchers have begun exploring how the gut microbiome may impact on other systemic conditions. Considering the role of microbes especially on regulatory T cells, it was plausible that the gut microbiome may have a role in other chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. In this review, studies of the gut microbiome in other chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases are discussed including how the information can inform our understanding of the gut microbiome in IBD.

Keywords: Animal models; Chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases; Dysbiosis; Gut microbiome; Inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Contributing factors in the development of immune-mediated inflammatory disease.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Microorganisms of interest in chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Eckburg PB, Bik EM, Bernstein CN, Purdom E, Dethlefsen L, Sargent M, Gill SR, Nelson KE, Relman DA. Diversity of the human intestinal microbial flora. Science. 2005;308:1635–1638. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Swidsinski A, Loening-baucke V, Lochs H, Hale LP. Spatial organization of bacterial flora in normal and inflamed intestine: a fluorescence in situ hybridization study in mice. World J Gastroenterol. 2005;11:1131–1140. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Forbes JD, Van Domselaar G, Bernstein CN. The gut microbiota in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Front Microbiol. 2016;7:1081. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Qin J, Li R, Raes J, Arumugam M, Burgdorf S, Manichanh C, Nielsen T, Pons N, Yamada T, Mende DR, Li J, Xu J, Li S, Li D, Cao J, Wang B, Liang H, Zheng H, Xie Y, Tap J, Lepage P, Bertalan M, Batto J, Hansen T, Paslier D Le, Linneberg A, Nielsen HB, Pelletier E, Renault P, Zhou Y, Li Y, Zhang X, Li S, Qin N, Yang H. A human gut microbial gene catalog established by metagenomic sequencing. Nature. 2010;464:59–65. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Forbes JD, Van Domselaar G, Bernstein CN. Microbiome survey of the inflamed and noninflamed gut at different compartments within the gastrointestinal tract of inflammatory bowel disease patients. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2016;22:817–825. - PubMed