There's been a lot of hugely promising work in the field of using symbotic bacteria to regulate gut immune responses. In one case [1,2], a strain of hookworm we

There's been a lot of hugely promising work in the field of using symbotic bacteria to regulate gut immune responses. In one case [1,2], a strain of hookworm were used to treat coeliacs for their gluten intolerance with incredible effectiveness. The theory is that hookwrom have developed a protein that they secrete to suppress the intestinal immune response so that they can inhabit the intestinal tract without being attacked. This same protein also happens to treat the overreaction that causes gluten intolerance. Present work is aiming to isolate the protein and produce it in pill form. The tip-off to this was that instances of dietary intolerance and immune response issues (asthma, allergies, etc.) are dramatically lower in the developing world, and that maybe some aspect of their relatively unclean environment plays a role in regulating the body from overreacting. It's being increasingly shown that the intestinal system as a dynamic and complex system of bateria plays a significant role in many aspects of human health, not just the digestion of food. We're only just starting to scratch the surface of this. Expect massive development in the coming couple of decades. [1]: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-10/hookworm-larvae-injected-into-coeliacs-gluten-intolerance/6926286 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-10/hookworm-larvae-inject... [2]: https://research.jcu.edu.au/bmdt/publications/publications-1/giacomin-australian-science-april-2015 https://research.jcu.edu.au/bmdt/publications/publications-1...