Long-distance relationships - regulation of systemic host defense against infections by the gut microbiota

Despite compartmentalization within the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiota has a far-reaching influence on immune cell development and function throughout the body. This long-distance relationship is crucial for immune homeostasis, including effective host defense against invading pathogens that cause systemic infections. Herein, we review new insights into how commensal microbes that are spatially restricted to the gut lumen can engage in long-distance relationships with innate and adaptive immune cells at systemic sites to fortify host defenses against infections. In addition, we explore the consequences of intestinal dysbiosis on impaired host defense and immune-mediated pathology during infections, including emerging evidence linking dysbiosis with aberrant systemic inflammation and immune-mediated organ damage in sepsis. As such, therapeutic modification of the gut microbiota is an emerging target for interventions to prevent and/or treat systemic infections and sepsis by harnessing the long-distance relationships between gut microbes and systemic immunity.