Clinical Translation of Microbe-Based Therapies

Every living thing such as plant, animal, human, etc., is born into the globe with a 100% pure one, meanwhile, none of them leave the world without the association of microbes. In particular, different communities of microorganisms live in the human body’s genital tracts, gut/gastrointestinal tract (GI), upper airways, skin, mouth, and also other body tissues [1]. Around 100 trillion microbial cells occur in the human body; outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1, they make up only about 1–3% of the human body’s mass. The human body act as a harbor for a huge array of microorganisms such as fungi, virus, and parasites among those bacteria have a great role. Each microbiota community regulates the human body as a health and/or disease factor by the influence of the genetic material of the microbe. The collective genomes of the bacteria in a certain environment are known as the microbiome, and they encode approximately three million genes that produce hundreds of metabolites that affect the host’s phenotypic and overall health, among other tasks. Dysbiosis, which is caused by an imbalance in the microbial community in the gastrointestinal system, is linked to a number of conditions, including diabetes, obesity, cancer, and Clostridium difficile infection. Dysbiosis in the vagina may increase the threat of recurrent infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, HIV transmission, and so on. The microbiota may also impact significantly such as dermatitis disease in the skin and caries disease in the oral [2–7]. The beneficial normal flora of the body involves many physiological functions like participation in nutrient absorption, protection of our body from microbial pathogens, and also enhancement of host immunity. However, the diversity of microbiota can alter by diverse exogenous and endogenous factors like environmental microbes, hygiene, health status, diet, and drugs. The main organs, such as the brain, heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys, depend on the gut bacteria to function properly. These organs lead to malfunction and also the stimulation of various associated diseases may occur due to any disruption to the homeostasis of microbiota. Over a decade ago, a plethora of data in biomedical research showed that modification in gut microbiota plays a major role in the development of numerous diseases and disorders. New therapeutic options for the growth of the gut microbiota have arisen as an emerging necessity in the treatment of many distant and local diseases/disorders, even if we are still at the basic level of progress. At the forefront of biomedical research are initiatives to investigate and pinpoint the critical role of particular microorganisms [8]. It will result in the translation of mechanistic insights into how normal flora affects health benefits including the successful application of microbe-based therapies. The microbes are being examined for therapeutic uses by the two main categories, that is genetically programmed microbes are used to secrete therapeutics at the locations of disease spot or delivery of therapeutics via systemic absorption by biological barriers and another type, that involves the delivery of therapeutic bacteria to the host for restoring of symbiosis, it leads to the pathogens displacement at the host. The success rate of therapeutic benefit depends upon the appropriate delivery of microbes. The delivery process is influenced by the following factors: Environmental elements such as UV-light, enzymes, and acid, which can increase the microbe viability/efficacy that leads to interrupting the biological secretion of microbes. The physical mechanisms of engraftment and drug diffusion, which are necessary to achieve a proper residence time at the site of action for drug absorption via the duodenum, are impeded by biological barriers such as microbiota, mucus, the duodenum, and lumen contents. A comprehensive comprehension of the interplay of the microbiota, microbial-therapeutic agents, and the host environment has the potential to eliminate the obstacle preventing the logical development of delivery strategies. The present focus of biomedical science is on clarifying the mechanisms of action in delivery approaches for microbe-based medicines in the future. This chapter discusses the critical role that dysbiosis and the gut microbiota play in human health, as well as methods for modifying the gut microbiota through nutrition, probiotics, and formulation and the thoughtful design of next-generation microbial therapies [1–4, 9–12].