Abstract
The evolution of the immune system, diet, and the microbiome are interconnected. Dietary metabolites modulate the cells of the immune system both directly and indirectly via shifts in the composition of the intestinal microbiota and its products. As a result, overconsumption and malnutrition can have substantial effects on immune responses and inflammation. In resource-rich nations, diets high in processed foods, fat, and sugar can contribute to chronic inflammatory conditions, which are on the rise worldwide. Conversely, in resource-poor countries, malnutrition associated with food insecurity can lead to immunodeficiencies and shifts in the microbiome that drive intestinal inflammation. Developing a deeper understanding of the relationship between diet, microbiota, and the immune system is of huge importance, given its impact on inflammatory diseases and its potential as an easily modifiable mediator of immunomodulation.
Footnotes
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Extramural Research (R21AI142051 to T.W.H. and T32AI089443 to A.H.P.B.), the Kenneth Rainin Foundation (to T.W.H.), and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (to T.W.H. and A.B.).
Abbreviations used in this article:
- Ahr
- aryl hydrocarbon receptor
- DC
- dendritic cell
- EED
- environmental enteric dysfunction
- HFD
- high-fat diet
- HIC
- high-income country
- ILC3
- innate lymphoid cell type 3
- LMIC
- low- and middle-income country
- PEM
- protein–energy malnutrition
- RA
- retinoic acid
- SCFA
- short-chain fatty acid
- Treg
- regulatory T cell.
- Received April 15, 2020.
- Accepted June 16, 2020.
- Copyright © 2020 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
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