FIGURE 1.

The abuse of antimicrobial agents (environmental, hospital, or animal) has lead to disturbances in the ecological community of the gut microbiota. This leads to mucus layer dysfunction and increased bacterial translocation. These bacteria promote the activation of DCs and macrophages by microorganism- associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), thus inducing neutrophil chemotaxis and IL production. Local inflammation leads to epithelial cells damage. APC present antigens to prime and maintain T-cell responses, and B cells inhibit the production of Ig A by plasma cells. Finally, immune system activation promotes inflammation, which ultimately leads to chronic diseases. The therapeutic approaches, such as phage therapy, the use of functional foods with probiotics and prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), have the potential to target specific bacterial taxa, thus helping to re-establish homeostasis and microbiome balance.