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In this Perspective, Duan, Young and Schnabl explore the effects of bacteriophages on the gut microbiota and the potential applications of phage therapy for treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Limitations and challenges of phage therapy for gastrointestinal diseases are also discussed.
Humans and their microbiota are intrinsically linked. Owing to dynamic interactions within the gut, nutritional science needs to incorporate the microbiome. This Perspective re-examines the history, rationale and future prospects of chemically defined diets (enteral or parenteral) in relation to the burgeoning understanding of the human microbiota.
Autoimmune diseases share patterns of gut microbiome perturbation and immune dysregulation linked to intestinal barrier dysfunction. In this Perspective, the authors examine dietary tools for precise engineering of the gut microbiome and discuss the potential for diet-based therapies to modulate host–microbiome interaction in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
This Perspective highlights an accumulating body of literature that outlines a direct role for oral-associated bacteria in inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis. The authors propose a model by which oral-associated species might expand in the inflamed intestinal environment to exacerbate inflammation.
The efficacy of faecal microbiota transplantation for the treatment of a range of diseases varies. In this Perspective, Sokol and colleagues discuss the relevance of various recipient factors that influence faecal microbiota transplantation success such as inflammation, immunity and genetics.
Although COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and its causative agent, SARS-CoV-2, principally infects the respiratory tract, extrapulmonary manifestations are observed. This Perspective explores the gastrointestinal symptoms associated with COVID-19 and the putative underlying mechanisms, discussing experimental evidence on SARS-COV-2 gastrointestinal infection and the potential for faecal–oral transmission.
