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Inflammatory disease research is burgeoning. Large data sets are being generated to characterize the human immune response, while detailed mechanistic studies are defining the role of specific cell types and sensors in inflammatory disease.
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Rescooped by
Gilbert C FAURE
from Immunology
July 25, 2015 6:52 AM
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Scoop.it!
Gilbert C FAURE's insight:
Two such moving parts are commensal microbes and dietary components. Advances in next-generation sequencing have enabled profiling of the microbiota in humans and how dysbiosis is associated with disease. The upstream causes of this dysbiosis, including environmental factors, perturbations induced by antibiotics and infection, as well as the dominant influence of early life exposure to microbes, are only now being teased apart. Metagenomics and metabolomics are enabling analyses of the gene products and metabolites produced by these microbes, with a detailed picture emerging regarding the abundance and function of microbes. Despite being produced in the gut, these microbial-derived metabolites act systemically, as highlighted in a News Feature (p 674). Moreover, Marc Veldhoen and Cristina Ferreira explain how dietary metabolites can alter immune cell development and function either directly or indirectly by altering the microbiota (p 709).
Immune homeostasis requires calibrated responses aimed at defending the host, walling it off from infection and promoting repair from injury. However, this process can go awry, resulting in chronic inflammation. The specially commissioned articles in this Focus issue on inflammatory disease aim to highlight emerging research into this process and its complexity. This complexity exists at numerous levels, from the interplay between environmental factors, immune cell subsets, and cellular sensors and the mediators they produce. It is clear that chronic inflammation is the result of many moving parts, and that many layers and types of information are needed to understand it.