Gut microbiota–host immune interaction

The “gut microbiota–host immune interaction” refers to the complex, dynamic interplay between the trillions of microbes residing in the gastrointestinal tract (the gut microbiota) and the host’s immune system. This relationship is not a single molecular entity or conventional drug target, but rather an aggregate of interdependent signaling, metabolic, and structural processes. The gut microbiota shapes the development and function of both the innate and adaptive immune systems and influences immune homeostasis, inflammation, pathogen defense, and tolerance to commensals. Microbiota-derived metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids modulate immune cell functions locally and systemically. Disruption of these interactions—by antibiotics, disease, or other factors—can promote various pathological outcomes including infection, inflammatory diseases, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Therapeutic modulation of this axis is the subject of intense research, typically through the use of probiotics, prebiotics, antibiotics, or fecal microbiota transplantation, but this is not a “single target” in the classical pharmacological sense[1][2][3][4][5].

Other names

Gut microbiota and host immunity interactionMicrobiome-immunity axisGut-immune system interplayMicrobiota–immune crosstalk

Modulation of gut microbial composition, Induction or suppression of inflammatory cytokines, Enhancement of beneficial metabolite (e.g., short-chain fatty acid) production, Restoration of mucosal barrier function, Regulation of T cell and B cell responses