IMR Press / FBS / Volume 14 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbs1403023
Open Access Review
The Role of the Gut-Lung Axis in COVID-19 Infections and Its Modulation to Improve Clinical Outcomes
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1 Research Department, Medlab Clinical, Sydney, NSW 2015, Australia
2 Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
*Correspondence: jiezhongchen66@gmail.com (Jiezhong Chen); luis.vitetta@sydney.edu.au; luis_vitetta@medlab.co (Luis Vitetta)
Academic Editor: Quazi Syed Zahiruddin
Front. Biosci. (Schol Ed) 2022, 14(3), 23; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbs1403023
Submitted: 22 April 2022 | Revised: 26 April 2022 | Accepted: 24 May 2022 | Published: 3 August 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

The main entry point of SARS-CoV-2 is the respiratory tract and as such immune defence in this site determines if the virus will spill-over to the systemic circulation and circulate and infect other major organs. The first line of mucosal immune defence is composed of mucins, an epithelial barrier, and immune cells in the nasal cavity. The lung immune defence is carried out by numerous alveoli. The lung microbiota is a key factor in determining the efficacy of lung mucosal immunity protection. The intestinal microbiota has been demonstrated to affect the severity of COVID-19. Gut dysbiosis is involved in hyperinflammation and multiple organ failure through communications with multiple organs. The gut lung axis could be the earliest axis affected in COVID-19. Through the gut-lung axis, gut dysbiosis can affect the pathogenesis of the lung in COVID-19. In this review, we summarise the effects that gut dysbiosis can progress on the lung, and the lung microbiota. The possible mechanisms and approaches for modulation are discussed.

Keywords
gut-lung axis
microbiota
dysbiosis
COVID-19
mucosal immunity
Figures
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