The Human Microbiome: How the Germs That Live Inside You Control Your Health
The body was once considered a germ and virus barrier that would seek to keep them out. Scientists turned that around a few years ago. The human microbiome—the trillions of germs that live, move and have their being in and on us—keeps us healthy, managing digestion, immunity and even mood.
What is the Human Microbiome?
The human microbiome is made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes found in the most dense human body niches with the most concentrated microbial gut microbiome. Microbes live in symbiotic conditions in their human host. Disease-causing pathogens are pathogenic microbes but most microbes are non-pathogenic and play gigantic roles in physiological processes under normal circumstances. Microbial health is a delicate balance; disturbing this fragile web of life has been linked to all diseases from obesity, autoimmune disease, allergy, and even psychiatric disease.
Digestion and Metabolism
The most important function of the activity being carried out by the gut microbiome is digestion. Polysaccharides, fiber, and other substances that our digestive enzymes can't break down are digested by gut microbes. They, in the process, produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, propionate, and acetate which are not only energy substrates for colonocytes but also are accountable for inflammation functions and metabolic regulation. The research again finds that dysbiosis of such microbial populations is most likely to be involved in metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. For instance, already it has emerged that obese individuals will have a differential species number of bacteria to lean individuals, and manipulation of the microbiome will provide novel therapeutic targets for weight control.
Modulation of the Immune System
The human microbiome is also a critical school for our immune system. Early exposure of infants to complex microbial diversity teaches the immature immune system to distinguish between innocuous and pathogenic microorganisms. Such "schooling" of the immune system reduces the possibility of overreaction to harmless stimuli—a parallel between allergy and autoimmunity. Microbial colonization in early infancy led to dysbalances through increased application of antibiotics, or even Caesarean section, thus subjecting human beings to life-long heightened extreme vulnerability to immune-mediated disease.
Neurotransmitters released by the microbiome such as
serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are involved in mood, anxiety, and cognition. Evidence has increasingly demonstrated that dysbiosis, or upset of the balance of the gut microbiota, has been linked to sicknesses such as depression, anxiety, and even neurodevelopmental disorders. Since a solitary recent milestone study has ushered onto the map with the recognition of correlations between aberrant gut microbiome signatures and major depressive disorder, this one day perhaps can pave the way to opening the door to probiotic or nutritional treatment as an adjunct to typical mental health therapy.Microbiome Science Breakthroughs
Breakthroughs in DNA sequencing and bioinformatics technologies have enabled us to chart the complex human microbiome ecosystem more accurately. Such initiatives as the Human Microbiome Project have cataloged thousands of microbial species and their variation between people. Such literature increase is illuminating interactions among the microbiome and virtually every aspect of health. For example, clinical trials are underway to determine how fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) will reconstitute normal microbial equilibrium in disease patients such as Clostridioides difficile infection and inflammatory bowel disease.
Challenges and Future Directions
Although such encouraging results have been reported, the therapeutic potential of the microbiome is constrained by heterogeneity and variability of the microbiome between individuals within microbial communities. And although many studies have led us to marvel at correlations between disease and microbiome community, it is hard to avoid hard cause-and-effect. Rather, scientists are developing individualized methods of medicine with intervention on one's own unique individual-specific microbial personality.
Over the next few years, interdisciplinary efforts from data scientists, neuroscientists, immunologists, and microbiologists will be at the vanguard of unscrambling the promise of the full human microbiome. The more we know, the more we'll even start seeing the horizon rising on new treatments, diagnostics, and even prevention on the backs of our microbial friends.
Conclusion
The human microbiome is rewriting all we understand today regarding disease and health. Nothing but good backseat metabolisms, immune systems, and even mood companions, the microbes and bacteria that reside within us are co-operative. There is still so much to learn, but the pace of microbiome discoveries promises new drugs to re-write disease avoidance and cure—a day when eubiosis (best healthy balance of microbes) is a pillar of wellness.
