Overview on Human Gut Microbiome and its Role in Immunomodulation

Abstract

Microbes are first acquired from mother to child during pregnancy and they are involved in programming fetal immunity. Proper maintenance of these microbes in early infancy aids in adult life and, therefore, can be achieved by a healthy diet, exercise, and clean environment as it plays an essential role in shaping gut microbes. Microbes reside within different tissues and organs, and thus, they form a mutualistic relationship with the human body. The effects of microbes on the human body can be both beneficial and harmful. As definite changes in the microbiome of some specific microorganisms and alteration in the tumor-promoting and suppressing genes may lead to the development of cancer. Contrarily, they are also involved in boosting the immune system to fight against cancer. Therefore microbes are involved in modulating the immune responses and this can be triggered by microbial products (polysaccharides and formyl peptides), metabolites (short-chain fatty acids), immunotherapies (TLR agonists and immune checkpoint inhibitors), and drugs.