title: The gut microbiome in human immunodeficiency virus infection.
abstract: HIV/AIDS causes severe dysfunction of the immune system through CD4+ T cell depletion, leading to dysregulation of both the adaptive and innate immune arms. A primary target for viral infection is the gastrointestinal tract, which is a reservoir of CD4+ T cells. In addition to being a major immune hub, the human gastrointestinal tract harbors trillions of commensal microorganisms, the microbiota, which have recently been shown to play critical roles in health. Alterations in the composition and function of microbiota have been implicated in a variety of 'multi-factorial' disorders, including infectious, autoimmune, metabolic, and neoplastic disorders. It is widely accepted that, in addition to its direct role in altering the gastrointestinal CD4+ T cell compartment, HIV infection is characterized by gut microbiota compositional and functional changes. Herein, we review such alterations and discuss their potential local and systemic effects on the HIV-positive host, as well as potential roles of novel microbiota-targeting treatments in modulating HIV progression and associated adverse systemic manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Gili
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zilberman-Schapira
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Niv
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zmora
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomik
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Itav
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bashiardes
authors.affiliation: Hadassah AIDS Center, Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel. hilaelinav@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hila
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elinav
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, 234 Herzl Street, Rehovot, 76100, Israel. eran.elinav@weizmann.ac.il.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elinav
mesh_terms: D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000276:immunology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans
keywords: AIDS; Anti-retroviral therapy; CD4+ T cells; Dysbiosis; Gastrointestinal tract; HIV; Microbiota