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Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Windowing Chicken Eggs for Developmental Studies
Published on: October 1, 2007
The Microbiota and the Immune Response: What Is the Chicken and What Is the Egg?
Julia Fritsch1, Maria T Abreu2
1Microbiology and Immunology, Center for Crohn's and Colitis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1011 North West 15th Street (D-149), Gautier Building, Suite 537B, Miami, FL USA.
Abstract:
The underlying factors driving the onset and progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) include the interplay between host genetics, microbiota, and mucosal inflammation. The same environmental triggers that are a risk factor for IBD also alter the microbiota, suggesting a link between the microbiome and IBD. Specific IBD-associated genetic polymorphisms change the microbiome linking host genetics to the microbiota. Microbial changes occur at least simultaneously with new onset IBD, and fecal microbial transplant can ameliorate certain types of IBD. A current debate in the field is which comes first, dysbiosis or inflammation? Can restitution of the microbiome "cure" IBD?
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