Gut microbiota translocation and dissemination in health: can it be beneficial and purposeful?

The gut harbors diverse community of microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiota, which has important roles in health and disease, both within the gut and in distant tissues. In the healthy gut, physical, chemical/biochemical, and immunologic barriers confine these microbes to the gut lumen, and accordingly, the translocation and dissemination of live gut bacteria has been almost universally viewed as a pathologic process. However, recent studies suggest that in early life, there may also be physiologic translocation and dissemination of select live gut microbes that confer beneficial effects on the host. Here, we provide an overview of the translocation and dissemination of gut microbes in everyday life, disease settings, and early life, particularly noting how microbial translocation may foster beneficial outcomes in health and disease.