Abstract
The epidemic of Clostridium difficile infection fueled by new virulent strains of the organism has led to increased use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). The procedure is effective for even the most desperate cases after failure of multiple courses of antibiotics. The approach recognizes microbiota to be integral to normal human physiology, and microbiota being used in FMT represents a new class of therapeutics. Imbalance in the composition and altered activity of the microbiota are associated with many diseases. Consequently, there is growing interest in applying FMT to non-C difficile indications. However, this may succeed only if microbiota therapeutics are developed systematically, based on mechanistic understanding, and applying up-to-date principles of microbial ecology. We discuss 2 pathways in the development of this new therapeutic class: whole microbial communities separated from donor stool and an assembly of specific fecal microorganisms grown in vitro.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1573-1582 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Gastroenterology |
| Volume | 146 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding Supported, in part, by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada , Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Association , the Canada Foundation for Innovation (E.O.P.), and by a National Institutes of Health grant ( R21 AI091907 to A.K.).
Keywords
- Defined Microbiota Ecosystems
- Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
- Full Spectrum Microbiota
- Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection