Abstract
The human body hosts trillions of microorganisms throughout many diverse habitats with different physico-chemical characteristics. Among them, the oral cavity and the gut harbour some of the most dense and diverse microbial communities. Although these two sites are physiologically distinct, they are directly connected and can influence each other in several ways. For example, oral microorganisms can reach and colonize the gastrointestinal tract, particularly in the context of gut dysbiosis. However, the mechanisms of colonization and the role that the oral microbiome plays in causing or exacerbating diseases in other organs have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we describe recent advances in our understanding of how the oral and intestinal microbiota interplay in relation to their impact on human health and disease.
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Acknowledgements
This project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 863664). This work was further supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) under grants CORE/15/BM/10404093 and CORE/19/BM/13684739 to P.W. This work was also supported by a Fulbright Research Scholarship from the Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States, Belgium and Luxembourg to P.W. Additional funding was provided by the FNR under INTERMOBILITY/23/17856242. E.L. was supported by the FNR and the Fondation Cancer Luxembourg under grant CORE/C20/BM/14591557, as well as by FNRS-Télévie grants 7.4565.21, 7.6603.02, 7.4560.22.
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Kunath, B.J., De Rudder, C., Laczny, C.C. et al. The oral–gut microbiome axis in health and disease. Nat Rev Microbiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01075-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01075-5
