Abstract

Drugs, including both antibiotics and non-antibiotic compounds, are among the strongest factors shaping interindividual differences in the composition of the human gut microbiome. While the microbiome-disrupting effects of antibiotics are well documented, the impact of non-antibiotic drugs remains poorly understood, particularly in terms of their consequences for host health.

In this talk, I will discuss how drug-induced microbiome alterations influence susceptibility to exogenous and ectopic pathogen colonization. Using high-throughput cultivation of gut microbes in monocultures and communities, gnotobiotic mouse models, and human cohort studies, we show that exposure to specific non-antibiotic drugs can promote pathogen colonization and increase infection risk.

However, the ability of drugs to modulate the microbiome can also be leveraged for therapeutic benefit. I will present our strategies for identifying compounds that counteract ectopic colonization by oropharyngeal species, restoring a healthy microbial balance both in vitro and in mouse models.

These findings highlight both the risks and potential therapeutic applications of drug-microbiome interactions, opening new avenues for targeted microbiome modulation in clinical settings.