Issue 21 october 2021 Special Report Innate immunity and microbiota
Although Elie Metchnikoff studied the link between the good health, diet and flora of certain populations (see The Microbiota Chronicle p .15), immunity, or the idea of immunity, was deeply marked by Pasteur's vision; microbes are considered to be "harmful" and the main purpose of immunity is to eliminate them.
Since the 1950s, research efforts have focused particularly on adaptive immunity, ultimately presented as the final stage of the evolution of the immune system. During this period, when the microbe was the enemy and theories drawn from Pasteur were applied at a clinical level, infectious diseases saw significant regression, a commendable outcome. But paradoxically, the incidence of immune disorders such as inflammatory diseases, allergies, diabetes and other autoimmune diseases has exploded.
It was in the 1980s that the hygiene hypothesis advanced the link between immune disorders and the microbiota. But it was the progress of analytical tools, the discovery of innate immunity receptors (PRR) capable of recognizing the conserved patterns of microbes, and the use of germfree mouse models that demonstrated the major role of the microbiota in the development and control of immunity and its ability to adapt to the environment. Our view of immunity has therefore evolved into one of a system whose goal is to seek balance between an external and internal environment, and in which the microbiota is a primary interface for communication, exchange, regulation and, consequently, balance. The view of adaptive immunity has also evolved from a system “supplanting” innate immunity to a system that is in fact an “effector” of innate immune response. The special report that we present today illustrates the essential role of the microbiota and innate immunity in immune homeostasis and the interview with Dr. Jehane Fadlallah, whom I thank, completes this feature by focusing more specifically on adaptive immunity.
I hope you enjoy reading it.
Cyrille Hoarau
Editor in chief of this issue
Table of contents
Special Report
- Innate immunity and microbiota: the story of a key link to immune homeostasisCyrille Hoarau
Interview
- Jehane Fadlallah
In Brief
The Microbiota Chronicle
- Believe and trust in the science: the legacy of Élie Metchnikoff Bruno Pot
Microbiota News
- Interesting Abstracts: A new milestone in understanding the role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of childhood asthmaAlexis Mosca
- Lactobacillus gasseri LA806 in irritable bowelStanislas Bruley des Varannes
- What will the next generation of probiotics look like?Bruno Pot
Focus
- Cardiology: Eat (well) to liveJacques Amar
- Gastroenterology:Faecal microbiota transplantation: encouraging data in cachectic patients with cancerStanislas Bruley des Varannes
- Metabolism: Robust associations between gut microbiota, dietary habits and cardiometabolic healthPhilippe Gérard
- Paediatrics: Bifidobacterium infantisE : a key species in the development of the gut microbiota in neonates?Alexis Mosca
- Gynaecology and Obstetrics: Endometriosis: new data to support the existence of dysbiosis of several microbiotasJean-Marc Bohbot
- Pulmonology: Educating the pulmonary innate immune system involves microbiotaGeneviève Héry-Arnaud
- Neuropsychiatriy: The gut microbiota: a future biomarker for multiple sclerosis?Patrick Vermersch
Taxonomic Reference
Contributors
Dossier thématiqueCyrille Hoarau
MD, PhD. Immunologist and allergy specialist, Interdisciplinary Unit of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Studies, Regional and University Hospital, Tours
EntretienJehane Fadlallah
Internal Medicine. Clinical Immunology, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris.
