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Updated: May 25, 2025

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
Published on: October 15, 2019
The Interplay of Nutrition, the Gut Microbiota and Immunity and Its Contribution to Human Disease
Samantha L Dawson1,2, Emma Todd1,2, Alister C Ward1,2
1School of Medicine, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia.
Abstract:
Nutrition, the gut microbiota and immunity are all important factors in the maintenance of health. However, there is a growing realization of the complex interplay between these elements coalescing in a nutrition-gut microbiota-immunity axis. This regulatory axis is critical for health with disruption being implicated in a broad range of diseases, including autoimmune disorders, allergies and mental health disorders. This new perspective continues to underpin a growing number of innovative therapeutic strategies targeting different elements of this axis to treat relevant diseases. This review describes the inter-relationships between nutrition, the gut microbiota and immunity. It then details several human diseases where disruption of the nutrition-gut microbiota-immunity axis has been identified and presents examples of how the various elements may be targeted therapeutically as alternate treatment strategies for these diseases.
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