Pathobiont
A pathobiont is an organism that is native to the host's microbiome that under certain environmental or genetic changes can become pathogenic and induce disease.[1]
Pathobionts differ from opportunistic pathogens in the sense that they are normally native to the microbiome, where opportunistic pathogens are acquired from outside that microbiome.[2]
Etymology
The term was originally coined in 2008 by Sarkis Mazmanian to describe Helicobacter hepaticus and its ability to cause colitis under certain environmental conditions.[3]
The term pathobiont had mixed reception among the microbiology field. The main argument against using the term is that some bacteria labelled as a "pathobiont" also exhibit beneficial effects to hosts under normal conditions.[1] The notion that their pathogenesis is tied to environmental or genetic changes from a perceived normal state would point to a firm understanding of a normal gut microbiome, which can vary drastically.[1] Arguers against the term state all bacteria have metabolism that are environmentally dependent, and even symbionts have been shown to exhibit deleterious clinical effects under certain conditions.[1] The argument has led to the development of a proposed term, pathogenic potential to describe a microbe's ability to cause disease.[4] Both terms are currently used within the field.
References
- ^ a b c d Jochum, Lara; Stecher, Bärbel (October 2020). "Label or Concept – What Is a Pathobiont?". Trends in Microbiology. 28 (10): 789–792. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2020.04.011. ISSN 0966-842X. PMID 32376073. S2CID 218532205.
- ^ Chow, Janet; Tang, Haiqing; Mazmanian, Sarkis K. (August 2011). "Pathobionts of the Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Inflammatory Disease". Current Opinion in Immunology. 23 (4): 473–480. doi:10.1016/j.coi.2011.07.010. ISSN 0952-7915. PMC 3426444. PMID 21856139.
- ^ Mazmanian, Sarkis K.; Round, June L.; Kasper, Dennis L. (May 2008). "A microbial symbiosis factor prevents intestinal inflammatory disease". Nature. 453 (7195): 620–625. Bibcode:2008Natur.453..620M. doi:10.1038/nature07008. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 18509436. S2CID 205213521.
- ^ Casadevall, Arturo (February 22, 2017). Alspaugh, J. Andrew (ed.). "The Pathogenic Potential of a Microbe". mSphere. 2 (1). doi:10.1128/mSphere.00015-17. ISSN 2379-5042. PMC 5322344. PMID 28251180.