REVIEW  MICROBIOTA AND DIGESTIVE DISEASES 

Minerva Gastroenterology 2021 December;67(4):357-68

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5985.21.02907-7

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease: a target for therapy not to be missed

Tiziana LARUSSA ¹ ✉, Ludovico ABENAVOLI ¹, Giulia FABIANO ¹, Maria A. MANCUSO ¹, Natale POLIMENI ², Dan L. DUMITRASCU ³, Francesco LUZZA ¹

¹ Department of Health Sciences, Magna Græcia University, Catanzaro, Italy; ² Digestive Endoscopy Service, Casa di Cura Policlinico Madonna della Consolazione, Reggio Calabria, Italy; ³ Second Medical Department, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

In the last years, the gut microbiota achieved great importance, since several studies demonstrated its correlation with the immune system and with the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis, as well as with the regulation of the integrity of the epithelium and the intestinal motility. An imbalance in microbial species promotes a dysbiosis, which has been associated with chronic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, inflammatory diseases, and some behavior disorders. The association with gut microbiota and dysbiosis has been demonstrated mostly in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Several studies investigated the application of antibiotics, prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation in the treatment strategies for IBD. In this review, we discuss the recent findings on the potential role of the gut microbiota manipulation, with particular attention to bacterial microbiota, which could be implicated for a successful IBD therapeutic approach.

KEY WORDS: Inflammatory bowel diseases; Microbiota; Dysbiosis