An emerging area of research in both academia and biotechnology is the innate im

Question

An emerging area of research in both academia and biotechnology is the innate immune response. Classic approaches to treating infection have focused on attacking the pathogen (e.g., antibiotics) or enhancing the host's adaptive immune response. Exploiting the non-specific nature of the innate response could help protect individuals from a greater number/variety of pathogens. Furthermore, stimulation of the innate response would avoid the problem of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. You are an independent consultant hired by a new biotech start-up company interested in designing drugs that will stimulate innate immune responses as a way to fight infection. You are in the initial stages of the project--investigating possible innate immune pathways to target with the new therapeutics. One of your first ideas is to look at probiotics to enhance the hosts normal microbiota. The use of probiotics to stimulate the normal intestinal microbiota and promote general health has gained increasing popularity in recent years. There are several ways in which our normal microbiota protects us from infection. Which of the mechanisms below is not a protective mechanism of our normal microbiota? Which statement about protective mechanisms employed by normal microbiota is false? Normal microbiota alter the pH of their environment. Normal microbiota stimulate the second line of defense. Normal microbiota spreading to locations where they are not normally found to prevent colonization from pathogens. Normal microbiota consume nutrients.

Explanation / Answer

Normal microbiota prevents colonization of pathogenic organism but does not spread to protect the body. Some indigenous bacteria form biofilms on a tissue surface or adhere to a specific site that involves biochemical interactions between bacterial surface components and host cell molecular receptors. If the normal microbiota travels to other parts of the body then they may no longer protect the body but can act as an opportunistic pathogen.

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