title: Perturbation of the human microbiome as a contributor to inflammatory bowel disease.
abstract: The human microbiome consist of the composite genome of native flora that have evolved with humanity over millennia and which contains 150-fold more genes than the human genome. A "healthy" microbiome plays an important role in the maintenance of health and prevention of illness, inclusive of autoimmune disease such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a prevalent spectrum of disorders, most notably defined by Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), which are associated with considerable suffering, morbidity, and cost. This review presents an outline of the loss of a normal microbiome as an etiology of immune dysregulation and IBD pathogenesis initiation. We, furthermore, summarize the knowledge on the role of a healthy microbiome in terms of its diversity and important functional elements and, lastly, conclude with some of the therapeutic interventions and modalities that are now being explored as potential applications of microbiome-host interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Infection Prevention & Control, Alberta Health Services, Office 3685, 3500-26th Avenue Northeast, Calgary AB T1Y 6J4, Canada. bayan.missaghi@albertahealthservices.ca.
authors.forename: Bayan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Missaghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Production of Animal Health, University of Calgary, HSC 2521, Health Sciences Centre, 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary AB T2N 1N4, Canada. barkema@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Herman W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Barkema
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, 7-142K Katz Building, Edmonton AB T6G 2E1, Canada. karen.madsen@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Karen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Madsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Alberta Health Services, Room 930, North Tower, Foothills Medical Centre, 1403-29th St NW, Calgary T2N 4J8, Canada. subrata.ghosh@albertahealthservices.ca.
authors.forename: Subrata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh