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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Drug Discov Today Dis Mech. 2013 Feb 4;10(3-4):e83-e89. doi: 10.1016/j.ddmec.2012.12.003

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Microbe-host dysbiosis refers to a state of imbalance with the microbiota that negatively impacts the host. This can occur primarily as a result of exogenous factors that alter the composition of the flora towards a more pro-inflammatory population. Alternatively, host susceptibility factors such as polymorphisms in innate or adaptive immune elements can lead to excess inflammation prior to any significant microbial shift. Either case can lead to a state where both the microbiota and host immune response are altered and contribute to a vicious cycle of detrimental inflammation.