Rous-Whipple award lecture
Pathogen Colonization Resistance in the Gut and Its Manipulation for Improved Health

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2019.03.003Get rights and content
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Mammals have coevolved with a large community of symbiotic, commensal, and some potentially pathogenic microbes. The trillions of bacteria and hundreds of species in our guts form a relatively stable community that resists invasion by outsiders, including pathogens. This powerful protective force is referred to as colonization resistance. We discuss the variety of proposed or demonstrated mechanisms that can mediate colonization resistance and some potential ways to manipulate them for improved human health. Instances in which certain bacterial pathogens can overcome colonization resistance are also discussed.

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Supported by NIH grants F32DK118800 (J.M.P.), DK091191 (G.N.), and DK095782 (G.N.).

Disclosures: None declared.

The Rous-Whipple Award is given by the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) to a senior pathologist with a distinguished career in experimental pathology research and continued productivity at the time of the award. Gabriel Núñez, M.D., recipient of the 2019 ASIP Rous-Whipple Award, delivered a lecture entitled “Role of the Microbiota in Host Defense and Inflammatory Disease” on October 21, 2018, at the Pathobiology for Investigators, Students, and Academicians (PISA) 2018 Annual Meeting in Ann Arbor, MI.

© 2019 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc.