Review of the relationship and underlying mechanisms between the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and host intestinal flora

Jin Lv; Ping Qi; Liu-Hui Bai; Xiang-Dong Yan; Lei Zhang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.1055632

Review of the relationship and underlying mechanisms between the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and host intestinal flora

Front Microbiol. 2022 Nov 29:13:1055632. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1055632. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jin Lv^{1

2

3}, Ping Qi^{1

2

3}, Liu-Hui Bai^{1

2

3}, Xiang-Dong Yan^{1

2

3}, Lei Zhang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ The First Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
² Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Regenerative Medicine of Gansu Province, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.

Abstract

The intestinal microbial community is the largest ecosystem in the human body, in which the intestinal flora plays a dominant role and has a wide range of biological functions. However, it is vulnerable to a variety of factors, and exposure to extreme environments at high altitudes, as seen on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, may cause changes in the structure and function of the host intestinal flora. Conversely, the intestinal flora can help the host adapt to the plateau environment through a variety of ways. Herein, we review the relationship and underlying mechanism between the host intestinal flora and the plateau environment by discussing the characteristics of the plateau environment, its influence on the intestinal flora, and the important role of the intestinal flora in host adaptation to the plateau environment. This review aimed to provide a reference for maintaining the health of the plateau population.

Keywords: Qinghai-Tibet plateau; cold climate; high altitude; hypoxia; intestinal flora.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31960236), Lanzhou Talent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Project (No. 2019-RC-34), the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (No. 21JR7RA369), the Lanzhou Chengguan District Science and Technology Planning Project (No. 2020SHFZ0029), and the Fund of the first Hospital of Lanzhou University (No. ldyyyn2019-75).