ABSTRACT
Inflammation is a biological response to the activation of the immune system by various infectious or non-infectious agents, which may lead to tissue damage and various diseases. Gut commensal bacteria maintain a symbiotic relationship with the host and display a critical function in the homeostasis of the host immune system. Disturbance to the gut microbiota leads to immune dysfunction both locally and at distant sites, which causes inflammatory conditions not only in the intestine but also in the other organs such as lungs and brain, and may induce a disease state. Probiotics are well known to reinforce immunity and counteract inflammation by restoring symbiosis within the gut microbiota. As a result, probiotics protect against various diseases, including respiratory infections and neuroinflammatory disorders. A growing body of research supports the beneficial role of probiotics in lung and mental health through modulating the gut-lung and gut-brain axes. In the current paper, we discuss the potential role of probiotics in the treatment of viral respiratory infections, including the COVID-19 disease, as major public health crisis in 2020, and influenza virus infection, as well as treatment of neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis and other mental illnesses.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Influenza, Human/therapy , Mental Disorders/therapy , Multiple Sclerosis/therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Probiotics/therapeutic use , Respiratory Tract Infections/therapy , Betacoronavirus/drug effects , Betacoronavirus/pathogenicity , Betacoronavirus/physiology , Brain/immunology , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/immunology , Coronavirus Infections/microbiology , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Gastrointestinal Microbiome/immunology , Gastrointestinal Tract/immunology , Gastrointestinal Tract/microbiology , Humans , Immunomodulation , Influenza, Human/immunology , Influenza, Human/microbiology , Influenza, Human/virology , Lung/immunology , Mental Disorders/immunology , Mental Disorders/microbiology , Microbial Consortia/immunology , Multiple Sclerosis/immunology , Multiple Sclerosis/microbiology , Orthomyxoviridae/drug effects , Orthomyxoviridae/pathogenicity , Orthomyxoviridae/physiology , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/immunology , Pneumonia, Viral/microbiology , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Respiratory Tract Infections/immunology , Respiratory Tract Infections/microbiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Symbiosis/immunologyABSTRACT
Inflammation is a biological response to the activation of the immune system by various infectious or non-infectious agents, which may lead to tissue damage and various diseases. Gut commensal bacteria maintain a symbiotic relationship with the host and display a critical function in the homeostasis of the host immune system. Disturbance to the gut microbiota leads to immune dysfunction both locally and at distant sites, which causes inflammatory conditions not only in the intestine but also in the other organs such as lungs and brain, and may induce a disease state. Probiotics are well known to reinforce immunity and counteract inflammation by restoring symbiosis within the gut microbiota. As a result, probiotics protect against various diseases, including respiratory infections and neuroinflammatory disorders. A growing body of research supports the beneficial role of probiotics in lung and mental health through modulating the gut-lung and gut-brain axes. In the current paper, we discuss the potential role of probiotics in the treatment of viral respiratory infections, including the COVID-19 disease, as major public health crisis in 2020, and influenza virus infection, as well as treatment of neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis and other mental illnesses.