ReviewNature reviews. Microbiology2018
The germ-organ theory of non-communicable diseases.
Review in Nature reviews. Microbiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
94 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 177 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hydrogen Sulfide and Oxygen Homeostasis in Atherosclerosis: A Systematic Review from Molecular Biology to Therapeutic Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Trial
- Host metabolism shapes the intestinal microbiota: a top-down paradigm of environmental selection pressure.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Preventive Effects of Fermented Yak Milk-DerivedFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A new paradigm of bidirectional regulation of the gut-spinal cord axis.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Comparative metagenomic and untargeted metabolomic analyses reveal gut microbiota and metabolite alterations associated with diarrhea in neonatal Holstein calves in Anhui, China.Veterinary world · 2026Article
- Energy-assisted CRISPR cleavage and probiotic vesicle signaling platform: Microbiome reprogramming for homeostasis.Science advances · 2026Article
- SparCC co-occurrence networking reveals intracommunity dynamics of the microbiome following colorectal surgery.Microbiology spectrum · 2026Article
- Tracing the early bacterial settlers in preterm and very-low birth-weight infants: first report of microbiota dynamics in South American neonates.Infection and immunity · 2026Article
- Theodicy perspective as an effect of the interpenetration of mental and religious issues during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.PloS one · 2026Article
- Elevated postoperative IL-1β induces disorder of intestinal microenvironment and alteration of gut microbiota.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Engineering the holobiont: Synthetic biology strategies for reversing bioenergetic collapse in radiation enteritis.AIMS microbiology · 2026Review
- The optimal dietary crude protein level improves goat production performance by enhancing the body's antioxidant function and energy metabolism.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Role of the intestinal microbiota in sepsis-associated encephalopathy.Burns & trauma · 2026Review
- Fucoxanthin Ameliorates Diabetic Kidney Disease via Modulating the Gut Microbiota and Tryptophan-Kynurenine Metabolic Pathway.Journal of immunology research · 2026Article
- Understanding microbiota-driven oncogenesis: The role of metabolites in tumorigenesis.iScience · 2025Review
- Indigenous infants in remote Australia retain an ancestral gut microbiome despite encroaching Westernization.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Dietary Modulation of the Gut Microbiota in Dogs and Cats and Its Role in Disease Management.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Host transcriptional responses to gut microbiome variation arising from urbanism.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Metabolic ecology of microbiomes: Nutrient competition, host benefits, and community engineering.Cell host & microbe · 2025Review
34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Gut dysbiosis is associated with many non-communicable human diseases, but the mechanisms maintaining homeostasis remain incompletely understood. Recent insights suggest that during homeostasis, epithelial hypoxia limits oxygen availability in the colon, thereby maintaining a balanced microbiota that functions as a microbial organ, producing metabolites contributing to host nutrition, immune education and niche protection. Dysbiosis is characterized by a shift in the microbial community structure from obligate to facultative anaerobes, suggesting oxygen as an important ecological driver of microbial organ dysfunction. The ensuing disruption of gut homeostasis can lead to non- communicable disease because microbiota-derived metabolites are either depleted or generated at harmful concentrations. This Opinion article describes the concept that host control over the microbial ecosystem in the colon is critical for the composition and function of our microbial organ, which provides a theoretical framework for linking microorganisms to non-communicable diseases.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.