New Animal Study Provides Additional Evidence Linking the Gut Microbiome to Metabolism
A recent Johns Hopkins study published in Mucosal Immunology (Jan 2018) further investigates the role of the microbiome, and the potential of manipulating the ratio and levels of gut microbes, relative to its role in metabolism.
Although the pathways are unclear, previous work focused on Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) suggesting a role in inflammatory response that may impact metabolism. Hackam and his team found that compared to normal mice, those lacking TLR4 expression in the intestinal epithelium showed significant weight gain, increased body and liver weight, and insulin resistance.
The researchers also found that specific microbe clusters were expressed differently in the TLR4-deficient mice than the controls and that genes in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) were significantly suppressed in the deficient mice.
The study concluded that the bacterial sensor TLR4 regulates both host and microbial genes that play important roles in energy metabolism that have been previously unrecognized.
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