The role of the gut microbiome in systemic inflammatory disease

Jose C Clemente, Julia Manasson, Jose U Scher

BMJ 2018;360:j5145 doi: 10.1136/bmj.j5145

ABSTRACT
The role of the gut microbiome in models of inflammatory and autoimmune disease
is now well characterized. Renewed interest in the human microbiome and its
metabolites, as well as notable advances in host mucosal immunology, has opened
multiple avenues of research to potentially modulate inflammatory responses. The
complexity and interdependence of these diet-microbe-metabolite-host interactions
are rapidly being unraveled. Importantly, most of the progress in the field comes
from new knowledge about the functional properties of these microorganisms in
physiology and their effect in mucosal immunity and distal inflammation. This review
summarizes the preclinical and clinical evidence on how dietary, probiotic, prebiotic,
and microbiome based therapeutics affect our understanding of wellness and
disease, particularly in autoimmunity.