TY - JOUR

T1 - The use of defined microbial communities to model host-microbe interactions in the human gut

AU - Elzinga, Janneke

AU - van der Oost, John

AU - de Vos, Willem M.

AU - Smidt, Hauke

N1 - Funding Information: This research was partly funded by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) in the framework of the Building Blocks of Life program (737.016.003), a Gravitation grant (SIAM 024.002.002), and the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Facilities (NRGWI.obrug.2018.005). We declare no relevant conflicting financial interests. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2019 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

PY - 2019/6

Y1 - 2019/6

N2 - The human intestinal ecosystem is characterized by a complex interplay between different microorganisms and the host. The high variation within the human population further complicates the quest toward an adequate understanding of this complex system that is so relevant to human health and well-being. To study host-microbe interactions, defined synthetic bacterial communities have been introduced in gnotobiotic animals or in sophisticated in vitro cell models. This review reinforces that our limited understanding has often hampered the appropriate design of defined communities that represent the human gut microbiota. On top of this, some communities have been applied to in vivo models that differ appreciably from the human host. In this review, the advantages and disadvantages of using defined microbial communities are outlined, and suggestions for future improvement of host-microbe interaction models are provided. With respect to the host, technological advances, such as the development of a gut-on-a-chip system and intestinal organoids, may contribute to more-accurate in vitro models of the human host. With respect to the microbiota, due to the increasing availability of representative cultured isolates and their genomic sequences, our understanding and controllability of the human gut “core microbiota” are likely to increase. Taken together, these advancements could further unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the human gut microbiota superorganism. Such a gain of insight would provide a solid basis for the improvement of pre-, pro-, and synbiotics as well as the development of new therapeutic microbes.

AB - The human intestinal ecosystem is characterized by a complex interplay between different microorganisms and the host. The high variation within the human population further complicates the quest toward an adequate understanding of this complex system that is so relevant to human health and well-being. To study host-microbe interactions, defined synthetic bacterial communities have been introduced in gnotobiotic animals or in sophisticated in vitro cell models. This review reinforces that our limited understanding has often hampered the appropriate design of defined communities that represent the human gut microbiota. On top of this, some communities have been applied to in vivo models that differ appreciably from the human host. In this review, the advantages and disadvantages of using defined microbial communities are outlined, and suggestions for future improvement of host-microbe interaction models are provided. With respect to the host, technological advances, such as the development of a gut-on-a-chip system and intestinal organoids, may contribute to more-accurate in vitro models of the human host. With respect to the microbiota, due to the increasing availability of representative cultured isolates and their genomic sequences, our understanding and controllability of the human gut “core microbiota” are likely to increase. Taken together, these advancements could further unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying the human gut microbiota superorganism. Such a gain of insight would provide a solid basis for the improvement of pre-, pro-, and synbiotics as well as the development of new therapeutic microbes.

KW - Animal model

KW - Gut-on-a-chip

KW - In vitro model

KW - Intestinal microbiota

KW - Minimal microbiota

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062861233&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1128/MMBR.00054-18

DO - 10.1128/MMBR.00054-18

M3 - Review

C2 - 30867232

AN - SCOPUS:85062861233

VL - 83

JO - Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews

JF - Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews

SN - 1092-2172

IS - 2

M1 - e00054

ER -