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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2023; 29(1): 19-42
Published online Jan 7, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i1.19
Microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract: Friend or foe?
Marina A Senchukova
Marina A Senchukova, Department of Oncology, Orenburg State Medical University, Orenburg 460000, Russia
Author contributions: Senchukova MA solely contributed to this paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Marina A Senchukova, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Oncology, Orenburg State Medical University, Sovetskaya Street, Orenburg 460000, Russia. masenchukova@yandex.com
Received: September 21, 2022
Peer-review started: September 21, 2022
First decision: October 18, 2022
Revised: November 5, 2022
Accepted: December 16, 2022
Article in press: December 16, 2022
Published online: January 7, 2023
Processing time: 105 Days and 3 Hours
Abstract

The gut microbiota is currently considered an external organ of the human body that provides important mechanisms of metabolic regulation and protection. The gut microbiota encodes over 3 million genes, which is approximately 150 times more than the total number of genes present in the human genome. Changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the microbiome lead to disruption in the synthesis of key bacterial metabolites, changes in intestinal barrier function, and inflammation and can cause the development of a wide variety of diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular issues, neurological disorders and oncological concerns. In this review, I consider issues related to the role of the microbiome in the regulation of intestinal barrier function, its influence on physiological and pathological processes occurring in the body, and potential new therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring the gut microbiome. Herewith, it is important to understand that the gut microbiota and human body should be considered as a single biological system, where change of one element will inevitably affect its other components. Thus, the study of the impact of the intestinal microbiota on health should be considered only taking into account numerous factors, the role of which has not yet been fully elucidated.

Keywords: Gut microbiota; Bacterial metabolites; Intestinal barrier; Dysbiosis; Fecal microbiota transplantation; Probiotics

Core Tip: The gut microbiota affects the development and functioning of all body systems, providing metabolic, physiological, regulatory and protective functions. Violations in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the microbiome lead to the development of a wide variety of diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular issues, neurological disorders and oncological concerns. Considering that intestinal dysbiosis plays a key role in the development of a number of diseases, aim to normalize the microbiome seems to be a greatly perspective direction in their prevention and treatment.