One way to look at the gut microbiome is as a communication network. Bacteria communicate with each other through chemical messengers and exchange of nucleic acids. They also communicate with intestinal epithelial cells and lymphocytes in the microvilli of the small intestine and crypts of the large intestine. Lymphocytes communicate with a variety of cells in the gut through chemokines and can migrate from the gut to other parts of the body, taking “information” from the gut with them. All of this is connected to the intestinal neural network, which of course is connected to the brain and central nervous system. Ultimately, it’s the INTERACTIONS that matter, not just individual interactions but the totality of these interactions, which is why looking at traditional targets for therapeutic intervention might be misguided.