Microbe-Endocrine Hormone Interactions

The influence of hormones on human cells is very well characterized, yet much less understood is the response to those chemical signals of the 1013-1014 bacteria and fungi that are coresident within the human frame [1]. Microbial Endocrinology is a research area which seeks to understand the role of microbial interactions with mammalian hormones in conditions of health and disease [2-4]. It takes the view that through their long evolutionary relationship with animals microorganisms have evolved systems for sensing hormones which they use as an indicator that they are within the proximity of a potential host. This article considers what happens when the human microbiota come into contact with the chemical signals of their host, and the health significance of this inter-kingdom-encounter