title: The intestinal microbiome in early life: health and disease.
abstract: Human microbial colonization begins at birth and continues to develop and modulate in species abundance for about 3 years, until the microbiota becomes adult-like. During the same time period, children experience significant developmental changes that influence their health status as well as their immune system. An ever-expanding number of articles associate several diseases with early-life imbalances of the gut microbiota, also referred to as gut microbial dysbiosis. Whether early-life dysbiosis precedes and plays a role in disease pathogenesis, or simply originates from the disease process itself is a question that is beginning to be answered in a few diseases, including IBD, obesity, and asthma. This review describes the gut microbiome structure and function during the formative first years of life, as well as the environmental factors that determine its composition. It also aims to discuss the recent advances in understanding the role of the early-life gut microbiota in the development of immune-mediated, metabolic, and neurological diseases. A greater understanding of how the early-life gut microbiota impacts our immune development could potentially lead to novel microbial-derived therapies that target disease prevention at an early age.
authors.affiliation: Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Claire
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Arrieta
authors.affiliation: Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada.
authors.forename: Leah T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Stiemsma
authors.affiliation: Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada.
authors.forename: Nelly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amenyogbe
authors.affiliation: Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, BC , Canada.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Finlay
keywords: child microbiota; immune-mediated disease; intestinal dysbiosis; intestinal microbiota; pediatric disease