title: Microbiome as mediator: Do systemic infections start in the gut?
abstract: The intestinal microbiome is emerging as a crucial mediator between external insults and systemic infections. New research suggests that our intestinal microorganisms contribute to critical illness and the development of non-gastrointestinal infectious diseases. Common pathways include a loss of fecal intestinal bacterial diversity and a disproportionate increase in toxogenic bacterial species. Therapeutic interventions targeting the microbiome - primarily probiotics - have yielded limited results to date. However, knowledge in this area is rapidly expanding and microbiome-based therapy such as short-chain fatty acids may eventually become a standard strategy for preventing systemic infections in the context of critical illness.
authors.affiliation: Melissa Latorre, Suneeta Krishnareddy, Daniel E Freedberg, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10023, United States.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Latorre
authors.affiliation: Melissa Latorre, Suneeta Krishnareddy, Daniel E Freedberg, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10023, United States.
authors.forename: Suneeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krishnareddy
authors.affiliation: Melissa Latorre, Suneeta Krishnareddy, Daniel E Freedberg, Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10023, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Freedberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003422:Critical Care; D016638:Critical Illness; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism; D005243:Feces; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D064307:Microbiota; D019936:Probiotics; D018805:Sepsis / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Critical illness; Gut; Microbiome; Probiotics; Short-chain fatty acids