A great number of diverse microorganisms inhabit the human body and are collectively referred to as the human microbiome. Until recently, the role of the human microbiome in maintaining human health was not fully appreciated. Today, however, research is beginning to elucidate associations between perturbations in the human microbiome and human disease and the factors that might be responsible for the perturbations. Studies have indicated that the human microbiome could be affected by environmental chemicals or could modulate exposure to environmental chemicals.

Environmental Chemicals, the Human Microbiome, and Health Risk presents a research strategy to improve our understanding of the interactions between environmental chemicals and the human microbiome and the implications of those interactions for human health risk. This report identifies barriers to such research and opportunities for collaboration, highlights key aspects of the human microbiome and its relation to health, describes potential interactions between environmental chemicals and the human microbiome, reviews the risk-assessment framework and reasons for incorporating chemical–microbiome interactions.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON ADVANCING UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL-CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS WITH THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
• BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
• BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
  • INTERACTIONS BETWEEEN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS AND THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
  • RISK ASSESSMENT: INCORPORATING CHEMICAL–MICROBIOME INTERACTIONS
  • RESEARCH STRATEGY
  • CONCLUDING REMARKS
• 1. Introduction
  • THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
  • RISK ASSESSMENT
  • THE COMMITTEE AND ITS TASK
  • THE COMMITTEE'S APPROACH TO ITS TASK
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Microbiome Variation
  • FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO VARIATION IN THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
  • THE GUT MICROBIOME
  • THE SKIN MICROBIOME
  • THE RESPIRATORY MICROBIOME
  • VARIATION BETWEEN HUMAN AND ANIMAL MICROBIOMES
  • FINDINGS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Characterizing Interactions Between the Human Microbiome and Environmental Chemicals
  • DIRECT EFFECTS OF A CHEMICAL ON MICROBIOME COMPOSITION
  • ALTERATIONS IN THE FUNCTIONS OF EPITHELIAL BARRIERS
  • DIRECT CHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS
  • TRANSFORMATION OF HOST-GENERATED METABOLITES
  • ALTERATIONS IN EXPRESSION OF HOST-TISSUE METABOLIC ENZYMES
  • INTERINDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY AND MICROBIOME METABOLISM OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS
  • FINDINGS
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Current Methods for Studying the Human Microbiome
  • SYSTEMS FOR STUDYING THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
  • TECHNOLOGIES FOR ASSAYING THE MICROBIOME
  • ANALYZING MICROBIOME POPULATION AND EXPOSURE DATA
  • STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, AND GAPS IN TECHNOLOGIES FOR STUDYING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MICROBIOME AND CHEMICAL EXPOSURE
  • FINDINGS
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Risk Assessment: Incorporating Chemical–Microbiome Interactions
  • THE RISK-ASSESSMENT PROCESS
  • DATA SOURCES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR RISK ASSESSMENT
  • MAJOR RISK-ASSESSMENT ISSUES RELATED TO CHEMICAL–MICROBIOME INTERACTIONS
  • ADDRESSING EXPOSURE CHALLENGES
  • RESEARCH TO ADDRESS RISK-ASSESSMENT NEEDS AND IMPLICATIONS
  • IDENTIFYING HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENTS THAT MIGHT NEED RE-EVALUATION
  • FINDINGS
  • REFERENCES
• 6. Research Strategy
  • SELECTION OF CHEMICALS FOR EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES
  • EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS ON THE HUMAN MICROBIOME
  • THE ROLE OF THE HUMAN MICROBIOME IN MODULATING EXPOSURES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS
  • THE IMPORTANCE OF MICROBIOME VARIATION AND VARIABILITY
  • TOOL DEVELOPMENT
  • OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION
  • CONCLUDING REMARKS
  • REFERENCES
• Appendix. Biographic Information on the Committee on Advancing Understanding of the Implications of Environmental-Chemical Interactions with the Human Microbiome

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Environmental Chemicals, the Human Microbiome, and Health Risk: A Research Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24960.