REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1618921

This article is part of the Research TopicMucosal Immunity after VaccinationView all 4 articles

Immunomodulatory Effects of Gut Microbiota on Vaccine Efficacy against Respiratory Pathogens

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, China
  • 2Xiang Yang No.1 People’s Hospital, Xiangyang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The outbreaks of respiratory pathogens like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza virus (IV) have heightened the demand for highly effective vaccines that provide strong and durable immunity in human populations. However, immune responses to vaccination vary significantly among individuals and populations. Recent studies have demonstrated that the gut microbiota play an essential role in regulating respiratory pathogens vaccination-induced immune responses through the systemic effects of gut-lung axis on distant organs, the lungs. In this review, we first synthesize the changes in gut microbiota composition and immune responses that occur during respiratory pathogen infections and vaccination. Then, we discuss the underlying immunological mechanisms of bidirectional immunomodulatory effects between gut microbiota and vaccines. Finally, we explore the strategies for designing next-generation vaccines against respiratory pathogens in term of gut microbiota-mediated immunological pathway.

Keywords: Gut Microbiota, respiratory pathogens, vaccine efficacy, Gut-Lung Axis, Immunomodulatory effects

Received: 27 Apr 2025; Accepted: 16 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Xue, Wang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Chuanyu Liu, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang, China

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