Project description:Background: More than 100 million Americans are living with metabolic syndrome, increasing their propensity to develop heart disease– the leading cause of death worldwide. A major contributing factor to this epidemic is caloric excess, often a result of consuming low cost, high calorie fast food. Several recent seminal studies have demonstrated the pivotal role of gut microbes contributing to cardiovascular disease in a diet-dependent manner. Given the central contributions of diet and gut microbiota to cardiometabolic disease, we hypothesized that novel microbial metabolites originating postprandially after fast food consumption may contribute to cardiometabolic disease progression. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we gave conventionally raised or antibiotic-treated mice a single oral gavage of a fast food slurry or a control rodent chow diet slurry and sacrificed the mice four hours later. Here, we coupled untargeted metabolomics in portal and peripheral blood, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, targeted liver metabolomics, and host liver RNA sequencing to identify novel fast food-derived microbial metabolites. Results: We successfully identified several metabolites that were enriched in portal blood, increased by fast food feeding, and essentially absent in antibiotic-treated mice. Strikingly, just four hours post-gavage, we found that fast food consumption resulted in rapid reorganization of the gut microbial community structure and drastically altered hepatic gene expression. Importantly, diet-driven reshaping of the microbiome and liver transcriptome was dependent on a non-antibiotic ablated gut microbial community. Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest that single fast food meal is sufficient to reshape the gut microbial community yielding a unique signature of food-derived microbial metabolites. Future studies are warranted to determine if these metabolites are causally linked to cardiometabolic disease.
Project description:Hundreds of microbial species were found to be transcriptionally active in the human gut microbiome based on the expression profiling of ca. 680.000 microbial genes As a part of the MetaHIT cohort 233 human stool samples were transcriptionally profiled using a custom made microarray that included probes for most prevalent microbial genes in the cohort as established by whole-genome sequencing of the same samples
Project description:Long-term dietary intake influences the structure and activity of the trillions of microorganisms residing in the human gut, but it remains unclear how rapidly and reproducibly the human gut microbiome responds to short-term macronutrient change. Here we show that the short-term consumption of diets composed entirely of animal or plant products alters microbial community structure and overwhelms inter-individual differences in microbial gene expression. The animal-based diet increased the abundance of bile-tolerant microorganisms (Alistipes, Bilophila and Bacteroides) and decreased the levels of Firmicutes that metabolize dietary plant polysaccharides (Roseburia, Eubacterium rectale and Ruminococcus bromii). Microbial activity mirrored differences between herbivorous and carnivorous mammals, reflecting trade-offs between carbohydrate and protein fermentation. Foodborne microbes from both diets transiently colonized the gut, including bacteria, fungi and even viruses. Finally, increases in the abundance and activity of Bilophila wadsworthia on the animal-based diet support a link between dietary fat, bile acids and the outgrowth of microorganisms capable of triggering inflammatory bowel disease. In concert, these results demonstrate that the gut microbiome can rapidly respond to altered diet, potentially facilitating the diversity of human dietary lifestyles. RNA-Seq analysis of the human gut microbiome during consumption of a plant- or animal-based diet.
Project description:Hundreds of microbial species were found to be transcriptionally active in the human gut microbiome based on the expression profiling of ca. 680.000 microbial genes
Project description:Microbial dysbiosis is a colorectal cancer (CRC) hallmark and contributes to inflammation, tumor growth, and therapy response. Gut microbes signal via metabolites, but how the metabolites impact CRC is largely unknown. We interrogated fecal metabolites associated with mouse models of colon tumorigenesis with varying mutational load. We found that microbial metabolites from healthy mice or humans were growth-repressive, and this response was attenuated in mice and patients with CRC. Microbial profiling revealed that Lactobacillus reuteri and its metabolite, reuterin were downregulated in mouse and human CRC. Reuterin altered redox balance, and reduced survival, and proliferation in colon cancer cells. Reuterin induced selective protein oxidation, and inhibited ribosomal biogenesis and protein translation. Exogenous Lactobacillus reuteri restricted mouse colon tumor growth, increased tumor reactive oxygen species, and decreased protein translation in vivo. Our findings indicate that a healthy microbiome and specifically, Lactobacillus reuteri, is protective against CRC through microbial metabolite exchange.
Project description:Long-term dietary intake influences the structure and activity of the trillions of microorganisms residing in the human gut, but it remains unclear how rapidly and reproducibly the human gut microbiome responds to short-term macronutrient change. Here we show that the short-term consumption of diets composed entirely of animal or plant products alters microbial community structure and overwhelms inter-individual differences in microbial gene expression. The animal-based diet increased the abundance of bile-tolerant microorganisms (Alistipes, Bilophila and Bacteroides) and decreased the levels of Firmicutes that metabolize dietary plant polysaccharides (Roseburia, Eubacterium rectale and Ruminococcus bromii). Microbial activity mirrored differences between herbivorous and carnivorous mammals, reflecting trade-offs between carbohydrate and protein fermentation. Foodborne microbes from both diets transiently colonized the gut, including bacteria, fungi and even viruses. Finally, increases in the abundance and activity of Bilophila wadsworthia on the animal-based diet support a link between dietary fat, bile acids and the outgrowth of microorganisms capable of triggering inflammatory bowel disease. In concert, these results demonstrate that the gut microbiome can rapidly respond to altered diet, potentially facilitating the diversity of human dietary lifestyles.
Project description:National screening programs use dried blood specimens to detect abnormal metabolism or aberrant protein function in infants shortly after birth, thus identifying disorders that are not clinically evident in the newborn period. Gut microbiota metabolites and immunological acute phase proteins are capable of revealing potential immune aberrations. Microbial metabolites interact with xenobiotic receptors (i.e., aryl hydrocarbon and pregnane-X) and maintain gastrointestinal tissue health, supported by acute-phase proteins, functioning as sensors of microbial immunomodulation and homeostasis. The delivery mode (vaginal or cesarean section) shapes the microbial colonization, which substantially modulates both the immune system's response and mucosal homeostasis.
This study profiled microbial metabolites of the kynurenine and tryptophan pathway and acute phase proteins in 134 neonatal dried blood specimens. We newly established neonatal blood levels of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor microbial ligands (indole-3-aldehyde, indole-3-butyric acid, and indole-3-acetamide) on the second day of life. Furthermore, we observed divergent microbial metabolic profiles in neonates born vaginally or via cesarean section, hypothesizing potential microbial immunomodulatory influence. In summary, these findings suggest the supportive role of human gut microbiota in developing and maintaining immune system homeostasis.
Project description:The trillions of microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract are an underexplored aspect of pharmacology. Despite numerous examples of microbial effects on drug efficacy and toxicity, there is often an incomplete understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Here, we dissect the inactivation of the commonly prescribed cardiac glycoside, digoxin, by Eggerthella lenta. Whole genome transcriptional profiling, comparative genomics, and culture-based assays revealed a cytochrome-encoding operon up-regulated by digoxin, absent in non-metabolizing E. lenta strains, and predictive of the efficiency of digoxin inactivation by the human gut microbiome. Digoxin inactivation was further enhanced by microbial interactions and inhibited by arginine. Pharmacokinetic studies using gnotobiotic mice revealed that increasing dietary protein reduces the in vivo metabolism of digoxin by E. lenta, with significant changes to drug concentration in the urine and serum. These results emphasize the importance of viewing pharmacology from the perspective of both our human and microbial genomes. RNA-Seq analysis of Eggerthella lenta cultured with or without digoxin.
Project description:Metabolism of coumarin by ex vivo cultures of human stool in a cohort of 9 healthy donors and by monocultured gut isolates. Quantification of coumarin and its microbial metabolites by untargeted and targeted metabolomics.