The Role of Gut and Lung Microbiota in Susceptibility to Tuberculosis

Pasquale Comberiati (1, 2, 3) , Maria Di Cicco (1, 2) , Francesco Paravati (4) , Umberto Pelosi (5) , Alessandro Di Gangi (1, 6) , Stefania Arasi (7) , Simona Barni (8) , Davide Caimmi (9, 10) , Carla Mastrorilli (11) , Amelia Licari (12) , Fernanda Chiera (4)

1 University of Pisa - Università di Pisa
2 Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana = Cisanello University Hospital [Pisa]
3 Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University
4 San Giovanni Di Dio Hospital [Florence, Italie]
5 ASSL Carbonia - Ospedale Santa Barbara
6 Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana
7 IRCCS Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù = Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital
8 Meyer Children's Hospital [Florence, Italie]
9 IDESP - Institut Desbrest de santé publique
10 CHRU Montpellier - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier]
11 John XXIII / Pediatric Hospital
12 Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo [Pavia]

Tuberculosis is one of the most common infectious diseases and infectious causes of death worldwide. Over the last decades, significant research effort has been directed towards defining the understanding of the pathogenesis of tuberculosis to improve diagnosis and therapeutic options. Emerging scientific evidence indicates a possible role of the human microbiota in the pathophysiology of tuberculosis, response to therapy, clinical outcomes, and post-treatment outcomes. Although human studies on the role of the microbiota in tuberculosis are limited, published data in recent years, both from experimental and clinical studies, suggest that a better understanding of the gut–lung microbiome axis and microbiome–immune crosstalk could shed light on the specific pathogenetic mechanisms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and identify new therapeutic targets. In this review, we address the current knowledge of the host immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, the emerging evidence on how gut and lung microbiota can modulate susceptibility to tuberculosis, the available studies on the possible use of probiotic–antibiotic combination therapy for the treatment of tuberculosis, and the knowledge gaps and future research priorities in this field.

Mots clés: Children; Gut; Infection; Lung; Microbiota; Microbiome; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Tuberculosis

Domaines: Pédiatrie; Santé; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Pasquale Comberiati, Maria Di Cicco, Francesco Paravati, Umberto Pelosi, Alessandro Di Gangi, et al.. The Role of Gut and Lung Microbiota in Susceptibility to Tuberculosis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021, 18 (22), pp.12220. ⟨10.3390/ijerph182212220⟩. ⟨hal-03704958⟩