AUTHOR=Rojas-Velázquez Liliana , Morán Patricia , Serrano-Vázquez Angélica , Portillo-Bobadilla Tobías , González Enrique , Pérez-Juárez Horacio , Hernández Eric , Partida-Rodríguez Oswaldo , Nieves-Ramírez Miriam , Padilla Angeles , Zaragoza Martha , Ximénez Cecilia 

TITLE=The regulatory function of Blastocystis spp. on the immune inflammatory response in the gut microbiome

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.967724

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.967724

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Blastocystis</italic> spp. is a unicellular organism that resides in digestive tract of various vertebrates, with a worldwide distribution and a variable prevalence. For many years, <italic>Blastocystis</italic> spp. was considered a cyst of a flagellate, a fungus, or a saprophyte yeast of the digestive tract; in 1996, it is placed in the group of stramenopiles (heterokonts). Since its new classification, many questions have arisen around this protist about its role as a pathogen or non-pathogen organism. Recent evidence indicates that <italic>Blastocystis</italic> spp. participates in the immune inflammatory response in the intestinal microbiome generating an anti-inflammatory response, showing a lower concentration of fecal inflammatory markers in infected human hosts. Here, we review recent findings on the regulatory function of <italic>Blastocystis</italic> spp. in the immune inflammatory response to comprehend the purpose of <italic>Blastocystis</italic> spp. in health and disease, defining if <italic>Blastocystis</italic> spp. is really a pathogen, a commensal or even a mutualist in the human gut microbiome.</p>