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World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2014; 20(5): 1192-1210
Published online Feb 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i5.1192
Role of the gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis: What have we learnt in the past 10 years?
Georgina L Hold, Megan Smith, Charlie Grange, Euan Robert Watt, Emad M El-Omar, Indrani Mukhopadhya
Georgina L Hold, Megan Smith, Charlie Grange, Euan Robert Watt, Emad M El-Omar, Indrani Mukhopadhya, Gastrointestinal Research Group, Division of Applied Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB252ZD, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Hold GL and Mukhopadhya I designed the outline for the review; Hold GL, Smith M, Grange C, Watt ER and Mukhopadhya I wrote the review; El-Omar EM, Hold GL and Mukhopadhya I revised and edited the final version.
Correspondence to: Indrani Mukhopadhya, PhD, Gastrointestinal Research Group, Division of Applied Medicine, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB252ZD, United Kingdom. indrani.mukhopadhya@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-1224-437557 Fax: +44-1224-437971
Received: September 28, 2013
Revised: November 19, 2013
Accepted: January 6, 2014
Published online: February 7, 2014
Processing time: 145 Days and 13 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: In the last decade there have been enormous strides in our understanding of the role of gut microbiota in the aetiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Newer molecular and genetic diagnostic tools have elucidated distinct changes in the gut microbiota in IBD patients and clarified the deficiencies of innate immunity. A link between environmental factors like diet, host immunity and the gut microbiota has been established. This review aims to enumerate these diverse strands of converging research in the last decade to outline the exciting prospects of possible personalized therapeutic interventions for patients with IBD in the coming years.