Pharmacomicrobiomics

Venn diagram showing pharmacomicrobiomics as a sub-field of genomics, microbiology, and pharmacology.

Pharmacomicrobiomics, proposed by Prof. Marco Candela for the ERC-2009-StG project call (proposal n. 242860, titled "PharmacoMICROBIOMICS, study of the microbiome determinants of the different drug responses between individuals"), and publicly coined for the first time in 2010 by Rizkallah et al. (from Ramy K. Aziz research group), is defined as the effect of microbiome variations on drug disposition, action, and toxicity.[1] Pharmacomicrobiomics is concerned with the interaction between xenobiotics, or foreign compounds, and the gut microbiome. It is estimated that over 100 trillion prokaryotes representing more than 1000 species reside in the gut.[2][3] Within the gut, microbes help modulate developmental, immunological and nutrition host functions.[4] The aggregate genome of microbes extends the metabolic capabilities of humans, allowing them to capture nutrients from diverse sources.[5] Namely, through the secretion of enzymes that assist in the metabolism of chemicals foreign to the body, modification of liver and intestinal enzymes, and modulation of the expression of human metabolic genes, microbes can significantly impact the ingestion of xenobiotics.[6]

Efforts to understand the interaction between specific xenobiotics and the microbiome have traditionally involved the use of in vivo as well as in vitro models.[7] Recently, next generation sequencing of genomic DNA obtained from a community of microbes has been used to identify organisms within microbial communities, allowing for accurate profiles of the composition of microbes within an environment. Initiatives such as the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) have aimed to characterize the microbial composition of the oral, gut, vaginal, skin and nasal environments.[8] This and other microbiome characterization projects have accelerated the study of pharmacomicrobiomics. An extensive understanding of the microbiome in the human body can lead to the development of novel therapeutics and personalized drug treatments that are not potentiated or activated by processes carried out by the microbiome.

  1. ^ Rizkallah, M. R.; Saad, R.; Aziz, R. K. (2010). "The Human Microbiome Project, Personalized Medicine and the Birth of Pharmacomicrobiomics". Current Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine. 8 (3): 12. doi:10.2174/187569210792246326.
  2. ^ Ley, R; Turnbaugh, P; Klein, S; Gordon, J (2006). "Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity". Nature. 444 (7122): 1022–1023. Bibcode:2006Natur.444.1022L. doi:10.1038/4441022a. PMID 17183309. S2CID 205034045.
  3. ^ Arumugam, M; Raes, J; Pelletier, E; et al. (2013). "Enterotypes of the human gut microbiome". Nature. 473 (7346): 174–180. Bibcode:2011Natur.473..174.. doi:10.1038/nature09944. PMC 3728647. PMID 21508958.
  4. ^ Egert, M; De Graaf, AA; Smidt, H; De Vos, WM; Venema (2006). "Functional microbiomics of the human colon". Trends Microbiol. 14 (2): 86–91. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2005.12.007. PMID 16406528.
  5. ^ Haiser, HJ; Turnbaugh, PJ (2013). "Developing a metagenomic view of xenobiotic metabolism". Pharmacol. Res. 69 (1): 21–31. doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2012.07.009. PMC 3526672. PMID 22902524.
  6. ^ Saad, R; Rizkallah, MR; Aziz, RK (2012). "Gut Pharmacomicrobiomics: the tip of an iceberg of complex interactions between drugs and gut-associated microbes". Gut Pathog. 4 (1): 16. doi:10.1186/1757-4749-4-16. PMC 3529681. PMID 23194438.
  7. ^ Sousa, T; Paterson, R; Moore, V; Carlsson, A; Abrahamsson, B; Basit, AW (2008). "The gastrointestinal microbiota as a site for the biotransformation of drugs". Int J Pharm. 363 (1–2): 1–25. doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2008.07.009. PMID 18682282.
  8. ^ Notes, S (2012). "A framework for human microbiome research". Nature. 486 (7402): 215–221. Bibcode:2012Natur.486..215T. doi:10.1038/nature11209. PMC 3377744. PMID 22699610.