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The human symbiont Mucispirillum schaedleri: causality in health and disease

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Abstract

Trillions of bacteria inhabit the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. In the majority of hosts, these symbionts contribute largely to beneficial functions promoting microbe-host homeostasis. However, an increasing number of human diseases is associated with altered microbiota composition and enrichment of certain bacterial species. A well-known example of this is Mucispirillum schaedleri, which has been associated with inflammatory conditions in the intestine. Mucispirillum spp. belong to the phylum Deferribacteres and are prevalent but low abundant members of the rodent, pig and human microbiota. Recently, M. schaedleri was causally linked to the development of Crohn’s disease—like colitis in immunodeficient mice. While this study certifies a considerable pathogenic potential, the same organism can also promote health in the immunocompetent host: M. schaedleri protects from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Tm)-induced colitis by interfering with the expression of the pathogen´s invasion machinery. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the mammalian gut symbiont M. schaedleri and its role in intestinal homeostasis and discuss open questions and perspectives for future research.

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Data availability

The datasets analysed were retrieved from the IMGS portal.

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Funding

Bärbel Stecher acknowledges funding by the German Center of Infection Research (DZIF), the DFG Priority Program SPP1656, the Collaborative Research Center CRC1371 and the European Research Council (Grant no. 865615).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Von-Pettenkofer Institute, LMU Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 9a, Munich, Germany

    Simone Herp, Abilash Chakravarthy Durai Raj, Marta Salvado Silva, Simon Woelfel & Bärbel Stecher

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  1. Simone Herp
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  2. Abilash Chakravarthy Durai Raj
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  3. Marta Salvado Silva
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Contributions

Data analysis was performed by AR and SW. Literature search was performed by SW and SH. This work was drafted by SH and BS, and critically revised by SW, AR and MS. MS designed the graphical abstract.

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Correspondence to Simone Herp.

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Edited by: Volkhard A. J. Kempf.

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Herp, S., Durai Raj, A.C., Salvado Silva, M. et al. The human symbiont Mucispirillum schaedleri: causality in health and disease. Med Microbiol Immunol 210, 173–179 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00430-021-00702-9

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