Gut microbes as a therapeutic armory

Abstract

Gut microbes have recently been appreciated to be a possible source of future therapeutics. They have been shown to be associated with a variety of diseases from diverse etiologies. The microbiome can change during the progression of some diseases, and in some cases is linked with disease severity. Following these findings, fecal transplantation has been integrated into treating Clostridium difficile infections with high success rates. These results have become a driving force for studies demonstrating the therapeutic potential of gut bacteria in other clinical indications. However, extensive research and clinical trials are still needed in order to reach the goal of using defined live microbial therapeutics for treatment. A mechanistic understanding of the effects of individual strains and bacterial consortia on the mammalian host, their colonization dynamics, and long-term impact, on both the gut ecosystem and their host, is thus required. In this review, we discuss the potential of individual bacteria or bacterial consortia in therapeutics, mouse models for such studies, and the future directions for deriving valuable therapeutics from the gut microbial armory.