Allergology International

Allergology International

Volume 66, Issue 4, October 2017, Pages 515-522
Allergology International

Invited review article
Development of the gut microbiota in infancy and its impact on health in later life

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2017.07.010Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

Gut microbial ecology and function are dynamic in infancy, but are stabilized in childhood. The ‘new friends’ have a great impact on the development of the digestive tract and host immune system. In the first year of life, especially, the gut microbiota dramatically changes through interactions with the developing immune system in the gut. The process of establishing the gut microbiota is affected by various environmental factors, with the potential to be a main determinant of life-long health. In this review, we summarize recent findings regarding gut microbiota establishment, including the importance of various factors related to the development of the immune system and allergic diseases later in life.

Keywords

Allergy
Bifidobacterium
Gut microbiota
Hygiene hypothesis
Infants

Abbreviations

GI
gastrointestinal
IBD
inflammatory bowel disease
SCFA
short chain fatty acids
Treg
regulatory T
Th
helper T
Ig
immune globulin
HMO
oligosaccharides in human milk
GOS
galactooligosaccharide
IL
interleukin
FA
fatty acids
SFB
segmented filamentous bacteria
Foxp3
Forkhead box P3
tTreg
Treg in the thymus
pTreg
Treg in the periphery
ATP
adenosine triphosphate

Cited by (0)

Peer review under responsibility of Japanese Society of Allergology.