Publication
Title
Probiotics against airway allergy : host factors to consider
Author
Abstract
The worldwide prevalence of allergic diseases has drastically increased in the past decades. Recent studies underline the importance of microbial exposure for the development of a balanced immune system. Consequently, probiotic bacteria are emerging as a safe and natural strategy for allergy prevention and treatment. However, clinical probiotic intervention studies have so far yielded conflicting results. There is increasing awareness about the importance of host-associated factors that determine whether an individual will respond to a specific probiotic treatment, and it is therefore crucial to promote a knowledge-based instead of an empirical selection of promising probiotic strains and their administration regimen. In this Review, we summarize the insights from animal model studies of allergic disease, which reveal how host-related factors such as genetic makeup, sex, age and microbiological status - can impact the outcomes of preventive or curative probiotic treatment. We explorewhyand howthese factors can influence the results of probiotic studies and negatively impact the reproducibility in animal experiments. These same factors might profoundly influence the outcomes of human clinical trials, and can potentially explain the conflicting results from probiotic intervention studies. Therefore, we also link these host-related factors to human probiotic study outcomes in the context of airway allergies.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Disease Models & Mechanisms. - -
Publication
Cambridge : Company biologists ltd , 2018
ISSN
1754-8403
1754-8411
DOI
10.1242/DMM.034314
Volume/pages
11 :7 (2018) , 13 p.
Article Reference
UNSP dmm034314
ISI
000440488600011
Pubmed ID
30037806
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 07.09.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
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