The vast community of microbes in the human gastrointestinal tract–the gut microbiome, has many close links to human health and well-being. The gut microbiome can vary significantly from one person to another, but researchers are findings ways that specific microbes in the gut are connected to various human characteristics or conditions. One such connection has now been found between a gut bacterium called Turicibacter and metabolism. In a mouse model, this bacterium could boost metabolic health and reduce weight gain in a mouse model. The study, which was reported in Cell Metabolism, also showed that people who are obese tend to have lower levels of Turicibacter in their gut microbiomes.
The findings from this study may help researchers find new ways to use the gut microbiome to treat metabolic disorders, or control weight.
Previous work by these researchers revealed about one hundred gut microbes that could collectively prevent mice from gaining weight.
Then, the investigators had to narrow that group down to find specific microbes that were influencing metabolism or weight. But gut microbes tend to be very well adapted to life inside the gut, which means they usually need to live in an environment that totally lacks oxygen, and they must be raised in carefully controlled environments. So the work took time, but eventually, a single microbe was found that was able to lower blood sugar levels, blood fat levels, and weight gain in a mouse model that was fed a high-fat diet. The microbe that could do all of this was Turicibacter.
"I didn't think one microbe would have such a dramatic effect—I thought it would be a mix of three or four," noted senior study author June Round, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Utah.
After first study author and MD candidate Kendra Klag, Ph.D., revealed the results of initial Turicibacter experiments, Round said, "This is so amazing." It's pretty exciting when you see those types of results."
When fats generated by Turicibacter were added to a mouse high-fat diet, the weight of the mice was controlled. Turicibacter seems to improve metabolic health by generating fatty molecules that the small intestine absorbs.
The investigators still have to determine which of the Turicibacter-generated fats have this metabolism-controlling effect, but they could be useful therapeutics, if these results are replicated in humans.
The findings are probably also not unique to Turicibacter, the researchers noted; there could be many gut microbes that have a significant impact on the metabolic state of their host.
"With further investigation of individual microbes, we will be able to make microbes into medicine and find bacteria that are safe to create a consortium of different bugs that people with different diseases might be lacking," Klag suggested. “Microbes are the ultimate wealth of drug discovery. We just know the very tip of the iceberg of what all these different bacterial products can do."
Sources: University of Utah Health Sciences, Cell Metabolism
