About this Research Topic
Our body faces the surrounding environment thanks to our organ barriers, such as the skin and gut. As the body boundary, epithelia continuously face pathogens and develop a complex microbial ecosystem. The disturbance of this delicate balance can lead to developmental disorders, early or accelerated degeneration, and unhealthy ageing. Probiotics, prebiotics, symbiotic, as as well as nutraceutical-containing foods can be regarded as an effective tool to promote health. At gut level, food constituents can directly affect the pathophysiology of this organ by modulating both the enterocyte function and the microbiota here resident. The results are a complex network that can lead to a low grade of inflammation at the basis of several pathologies. The cross-talk between microbiota and the immune system in turn can affect skin health, while the ability to cross the blood-brain-barrier by specific molecules can contribute to the development of depression, autism and schizophrenia, to name some.
In the last decade, the gut has revealed new functionalities and implications in extra intestinal organs, like the skin and brain. Gut anatomy comprises not only of absorptive cells, responsible of the final digestion step and absorption of the resulting molecules, but also a multifaceted mosaic-like structure including: the microbiota, the innervation, and the immune systems. This complexity accounts for the plethora of functions carried out by the gut. At the same time, the gut and skin represents environmental and dietary targets. Interaction with gut surface and components can result in a modulation of skin functions. Moreover, emotional state, such as anxiety, stress, or pain can modulate skin and gut physiology and, in turn, brain function can be modulated by dysbiosis as well as by a leaky gut.
This Research Topic aims to shed light on the connection between the gut, through the nutrients and the resident microbiota, skin epithelia, and brain. In particular, the Research Topic aims to collect review/research articles with new and promising evidences on the way foods and intestinal microbiota can drive the complex machine of inflammation to the development of pathologies such as intestinal bowel syndrome, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, atopic eczema, autism, anxiety, depression, and Parkinson's disease, among the most studied in this context. Particular interest will be dedicated to all the studies focusing on dysbiosis and how prebiotic and/or food-associated molecules can affect the microbiota leading to the formation of a leaky intestinal barrier. Next to these events, the production of signaling molecules by microbiota targeting the skin and involving brain will be strongly considered.
In the last decade, the gut has revealed new functionalities and implications in extra intestinal organs, like the skin and brain. Gut anatomy comprises not only of absorptive cells, responsible of the final digestion step and absorption of the resulting molecules, but also a multifaceted mosaic-like structure including: the microbiota, the innervation, and the immune systems. This complexity accounts for the plethora of functions carried out by the gut. At the same time, the gut and skin represents environmental and dietary targets. Interaction with gut surface and components can result in a modulation of skin functions. Moreover, emotional state, such as anxiety, stress, or pain can modulate skin and gut physiology and, in turn, brain function can be modulated by dysbiosis as well as by a leaky gut.
This Research Topic aims to shed light on the connection between the gut, through the nutrients and the resident microbiota, skin epithelia, and brain. In particular, the Research Topic aims to collect review/research articles with new and promising evidences on the way foods and intestinal microbiota can drive the complex machine of inflammation to the development of pathologies such as intestinal bowel syndrome, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, atopic eczema, autism, anxiety, depression, and Parkinson's disease, among the most studied in this context. Particular interest will be dedicated to all the studies focusing on dysbiosis and how prebiotic and/or food-associated molecules can affect the microbiota leading to the formation of a leaky intestinal barrier. Next to these events, the production of signaling molecules by microbiota targeting the skin and involving brain will be strongly considered.
Keywords: Food, Skin, Gut, Brain, Diseases, Homeostasis
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