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Inter-kingdom signaling between gut microbiota and their host

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Abstract

The crosstalk between prokaryotic bacteria and eukaryotic gut epithelial cells has opened a new field for research. Quorum sensing system (QS) molecules employed by gut microbiota may play an essential role in host–microbial symbioses of the gut. Recent studies on the gut microbiome will unveil evolved mechanisms of the host to affect bacterial QS and shape bacterial composition. Bacterial autoinducers (AIs) could talk to the host’s gut by eliciting proinflammatory effects and modulating the activities of T lymphocyte, macrophage, dendritic cells, and neutrophils. In addition, the gut mucosa could interfere with bacterial AIs by degrading them or secreting AI mimics. Moreover, bacterial AIs and gut hormones epinephrine and noradrenaline may be interchangeable in the crosstalk between the microbiota and human gut. Therefore, inter-kingdom signaling between gut microbiota and host may provide a novel target in the management of gut microbiota-related conditions or diseases in the future.

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Fig. 1

Modified from Ref. [35]

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Author notes

  1. Qing Li and Yixing Ren contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Sichuan, 646000, China

    Qing Li

  2. Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong City, 637000, China

    Yixing Ren

  3. Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Road Wenhua 63#, Region Shunqing, Nanchong City, 637000, China

    Xiangsheng Fu

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  1. Qing Li
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Correspondence to Xiangsheng Fu.

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Li, Q., Ren, Y. & Fu, X. Inter-kingdom signaling between gut microbiota and their host. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 76, 2383–2389 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-019-03076-7

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