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Published on: June 24, 2020
Early-life interactions between the microbiota and immune system: impact on immune system development and atopic
Katherine Donald1,2, B Brett Finlay3,4,5
1Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Insights
Early life gut microbiota development is crucial for immune system maturation. Altered microbial exposures in infancy are linked to increased allergic disease risk, highlighting the need to understand these interactions.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Microbiology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Prenatal and early postnatal life are critical windows for immune system development.
- Environmental factors, particularly the gut microbiota, significantly influence infant immune maturation and health.
- The 'hygiene hypothesis' suggests reduced microbial exposures in developed countries contribute to rising allergic diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To detail immune system and gut microbiota maturation during early life.
- To elucidate mechanistic links between microbial colonization and immune system development.
- To summarize the role of early-life host-microorganism interactions in the development of allergic diseases.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing human cohort studies correlating early-life microbiota with atopy.
- Analysis of factors influencing gut microbiota establishment (diet, environment, medical interventions).
- Synthesis of current understanding of host-microorganism interactions in immune training.
Main Results:
- Early-life gut microbiota composition is established by diet, environment, and medical interventions.
- The developing gut microbiota plays a key role in training the infant immune system.
- Alterations in early-life microbiota are associated with an increased risk of chronic immune-mediated and allergic diseases.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the progression of immune and microbial maturation is essential for infant health.
- Specific host-microorganism interactions are critical for preventing allergic disease development.
- Further research is needed to fully uncover the mechanistic links between early-life microbes and immunity.
Abstract:
Prenatal and early postnatal life represent key periods of immune system development. In addition to genetics and host biology, environment has a large and irreversible role in the immune maturation and health of an infant. One key player in this process is the gut microbiota, a diverse community of microorganisms that colonizes the human intestine. The diet, environment and medical interventions experienced by an infant determine the establishment and progression of the intestinal microbiota, which interacts with and trains the developing immune system. Several chronic immune-mediated diseases have been linked to an altered gut microbiota during early infancy. The recent rise in allergic disease incidence has been explained by the 'hygiene hypothesis', which states that societal changes in developed countries have led to reduced early-life microbial exposures, negatively impacting immunity. Although human cohort studies across the globe have established a correlation between early-life microbiota composition and atopy, mechanistic links and specific host-microorganism interactions are still being uncovered. Here, we detail the progression of immune system and microbiota maturation in early life, highlight the mechanistic links between microbes and the immune system, and summarize the role of early-life host-microorganism interactions in allergic disease development.
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