We've all heard of the gut microbiome and the important role it plays in many aspects of human health, but what about the so called microvirome? Jeremy Barr and his research team of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia have found that humans absorb nearly 30 million bacteriophages daily through their intestines and into the blood stream. It was originally though that bacteriophages interacted exclusively with bacterial hosts and had to interplay with eukaryotic cells. However, this viewpoint is now being questioned as further research is conducted.
It has been hypothesized that the bacteriophages that get into human tissues play an important role in immune modulation. Specifically, when normal human leukocytes were exposed to 5 different bacteriophage species, they were found to produce molecules that decreased inflammation. Additionally, people who suffer from autoimmune conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and Type 1 diabetes have been found to have altered bacteriophage communities when compared to healthy people. There is a lot of potential in bacteriophage research and how it can interplay with the bacteria in our bodies, and potentially even with our own cells. However, Barr says "Given our current ignorance of phageeukaryote interactions, medical uses are probably decades away.”
~Emma
Source: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/does-sea-viruses-inside-our-body-help-keep-us-healthy
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