Abstract
Long thought to be a sterile habitat, the stomach contains a diverse and unique community of bacteria. One particular inhabitant, Helicobacter pylori, colonizes half of the world’s human population and establishes a decadeslong infection that can be asymptomatic, pathogenic, or even beneficial for the host. Many host and bacterial factors are known to influence an individual’s risk of gastric disease, but another potentially important determinant has recently come to light: the host microbiota. Although it is unclear to what extent H. pylori infection perturbs the established gastric microbial community, and H. pylori colonization seems generally resistant to disturbances in the host microbiota, it can modulate H. pylori pathogenicity. Interactions between H. pylori and bacteria at nongastric sites are likely indirect-via programming of the pro-inflammatory vs. regulatory T lymphocytes-which may have a significant impact on human health.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 345-350 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Gut Microbes |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- 16S rDNA
- Disease
- Helicobacter pylori
- Human
- Microbial community
- Microbiota
- Mouse
- Rhesus monkey
- Stomach
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Gastroenterology
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases