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Author Spotlight: Investigating Bacteriophage-Induced Immune Responses in Gnotobiotic Mice

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Bacteriophages and the Immune System.

Medeea Popescu1,2, Jonas D Van Belleghem1, Arya Khosravi1

  • 1Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA;

Annual Review of Virology
|May 20, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Our human phageome, viruses infecting bacteria, plays a key role in immunity. Understanding these bacteriophage-bacteria-human interactions is vital for health and disease.

Keywords:
bacteriophagecommensalimmunemicrobiomephage displayphageome

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology and Immunology
  • Human Microbiome Research

Background:

  • Bacteriophages (phages) are abundant in the human body but their health significance is under-explored.
  • The human phageome's interactions with the immune system are complex and multifaceted.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize current knowledge on the human phageome and its immunological relevance.
  • To explore direct and indirect effects of phages on innate and adaptive immunity.
  • To propose a model for tri-kingdom interactions within the microbiome.

Main Methods:

  • Literature synthesis and review of existing research on bacteriophages and the human immune system.
  • Analysis of phage-encoded proteins' impact on bacterial expression and immunity.
  • Examination of direct phage influence on innate immunity and bacterial clearance mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Phages indirectly influence immunity through bacterial expression of phage proteins.
  • Phages directly impact innate immunity and the clearance of bacteria.
  • Adaptive immunity against phages is a significant factor in phage-bacterial interactions.

Conclusions:

  • The human microbiome is an interconnected network of bacteria, bacteriophages, and human cells.
  • Stability in these tri-kingdom interactions is crucial for immunologic and metabolic health.
  • Disruption of this balance, via exogenous phages or dysbiosis, may lead to disease.