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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Mar 19.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Microbiol. 2017 Feb 22;2:17008. doi: 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2017.8

Figure 2 ∣. Microbial interactions with the immune system modulate cancer risk.

Figure 2 ∣

Microbiota promote homeostasis directly through metabolites and bacterial products, which influence both the epithelial and immune cell response. In addition, dysregulated immune-host interaction favours the development of dysbiosis, which contributes to carcinogenesis through metabolic activities and activation of immune responses. Some protective microbiota (SCFAs) may promote cellular proliferation of cancer-initiated cells (dashed arrow). Brackets contain example compounds. PSA, polysaccharide A; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-β. Stars indicate DNA damage.