Microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles as new systemic regulators

The gut microbiota and their products play a critical role in metabolism, neurologic status, endocrine and immune system. There are pieces of evidence that dysbiosis in the gut is a factor in an astounding array of conditions and diseases: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), autism, asthma, cancer, obesity, diabetes, neurological disorders, cardiovascular, and fatty liver disease (Zeng et al., 2017). Microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry a large diversity of compounds that can affect diverse pathways in the host. We propose to use various EVs not only as adjuvants for vaccination (Moshiri et al., 2012) but also as potential modifiers of host interactions in the gut that in turn affect several organ functions such as alteration of signaling molecules at the intestinal barriers (Cañas et al., 2016).