Establishing the new playbook for interactions among microbiota, bacterial metabolites, adaptive immunity, autoimmune disease and metabolic syndrome

Abstract

Summary There is an increasingly rich, functionally annotated data set for the microbiota heterogeneity of humans and mice, especially with respect to the gut. This has engaged the attention of immunologists, motivated to comprehend the rules for immune recognition of this vast array of microbial species, once largely ignored as commensals. For some prototypic examples, T‐cell immunology has been well characterized. This includes effects on preferential expansion of T‐cell subsets, and the immune‐modulatory effects of bacterial metabolites such as short‐chain fatty acids. However, much of this territory remains uncharted. Understanding these interactions has profound implications for therapeutic modulation of disease susceptibility, spanning autoimmune/inflammatory disease processes and development of obesity‐related metabolic syndrome.