scholarly journals Intermittent Fasting Reshapes the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome and Reduces Weight Gain More Effectively Than Melatonin in Mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingliang Liu ◽  
Yifan Zhong ◽  
Xin M. Luo ◽  
Yanfei Ma ◽  
Jianxin Liu ◽  
...  

Background: Intermittent fasting (IF) can reduce energy intake and body weight (BW). Melatonin has many known functions, which include reducing appetite and preventing excessive weight gain.Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of IF on body fat and the gut microbiota and metabolome as well as a potential interaction with melatonin.Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice (23.0 ± 0.9 g, 6 wk old) were randomly assigned into four groups (12 mice/group): control (C), intermittent fasting (F), melatonin (M), and intermittent fasting plus melatonin (MF). The C and M groups mice were provided with ad libitum access to food and water, while the F and MF groups underwent alternative-day feed deprivation (15 cycles total). Melatonin was administered in the drinking water of the M and MF groups. Blood, epididymal fat, liver tissue, and intestinal tissue and contents were collected for lab measurements, histology, and microbiota and metabolome analysis. Main effects and interactions were tested by 2-factor ANOVA.Results: IF significantly reduced BW gain and serum glucose, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels. Adipocyte size significantly decreased with IF, then the number of adipocytes per square millimeter significantly increased (P < 0.05). Compared to the C group, the M and MF groups had significantly higher serum melatonin levels (17 and 21%, respectively), although melatonin monotherapy had no effect on serum parameters and adipocytes. There was no interaction between IF and melatonin on BW gain and serum parameters except for on adipocyte area and number per square millimeter, Bacteroidetes and Akkermansia bacterial abundance, and the levels of the intestinal metabolites alanine, valine and isoleucine. IF changed the intestinal microbiota structure, with the F and MF groups clearly separating from the C and M groups. Metabolomic analysis showed that there was obvious separation between all four groups.Conclusions: IF, but neither melatonin nor the interaction between IF and melatonin, could alter intestinal microbiota and metabolism and prevent obesity by reducing BW gain, serum glucose, TC, and TG, and adipocyte size in mice.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
xiao wei ◽  
Jing Yuan

Abstract Background Gut microbiota is considered as an important endocrine organ and has remarkable influence on the metabolic phenotype of host, with extensive participation in the cometabolism with host. Significant changes occurred in intestinal microenvironment of cirrhotic patients under the influence of gut-liver axis. Hepatic encephalopathy is one of the common complications of cirrhosis. Methods In this study, four patients of cirrhosis accompanied with hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) were enrolled, with their healthy relatives as the controls, and paired comparison analysis was carried out. Fresh fecal samples were collected from participants, and subjected to Illumina MiSeq high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA regions, and metabolome analysis was carried out using high-performance liquid phase chromatography and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-GC/MS-MS). Results Both the intestinal microbiota community and metabolome analysis showed distinct differences between CHE patients and the normal. CHE patients contained a remarkably decreased abundance of Bacteroidetes, whereas increased abundances of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria compared with the normal. Metabolome analysis revealed significant changes in metabolites constituents for CHE patients, showing distinct higher concentrations of amine, alanine, glutamic acid, ornithine, and tyrosine, with lower concentrations of cholesterol, myo-inositol, serine, suggesting the metabolic balance of intestinal microbiota was disrupted. The initial equilibrium state of gut microbiota community and metabolism was broken due to CHE. Conclusions Our study illustrated the intestinal microenvironment dysbiosis and dysfunction characteristics, which will be expected to provide guiding significance for intestinal microecological therapy and improvement of patients prognosis clinically.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2903
Author(s):  
Jiezhong Chen ◽  
Luis Vitetta

The gut microbiota is well known to exert multiple benefits on human health including protection from disease causing pathobiont microbes. It has been recognized that healthy intestinal microbiota is of great importance in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Gut dysbiosis caused by various reasons is associated with severe COVID-19. Therefore, the modulation of gut microbiota and supplementation of commensal bacterial metabolites could reduce the severity of COVID-19. Many approaches have been studied to improve gut microbiota in COVID-19 including probiotics, bacterial metabolites, and prebiotics, as well as nutraceuticals and trace elements. So far, 19 clinical trials for testing the efficacy of probiotics and synbiotics in COVID-19 prevention and treatment are ongoing. In this narrative review, we summarize the effects of various approaches on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and discuss associated mechanisms.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e038933
Author(s):  
Rita Salvado ◽  
Sandra Santos-Minguez ◽  
Cristina Agudo-Conde ◽  
Cristina Lugones-Sanchez ◽  
Angela Cabo-Laso ◽  
...  

IntroductionIntestinal microbiota is arising as a new element in the physiopathology of cardiovascular diseases. A healthy microbiota includes a balanced representation of bacteria with health promotion functions (symbiotes). The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between intestinal microbiota composition and arterial stiffness.Methods and analysisAn observational case—control study will be developed. Cases will be defined by the presence of at least one of the following: carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index (CAVI), brachial ankle pulse wave velocity (ba or ba-PWV) above the 90th percentile, for age and sex, of the reference population. Controls will be selected from the same population as cases. The study will be developed in Primary Healthcare Centres. We will select 500 subjects (250 cases and 250 controls), between 45 and 74 years of age. Cases will be selected from a database that combines data from EVA study (Spain) and Guimarães/Vizela study (Portugal). Measurements: cf-PWV will be measured using the SphygmoCor system, CAVI, ba-PWV and Ankle-Brachial Index will be determined using VaSera device. Gut microbiome composition in faecal samples will be determined by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Lifestyle will be assessed by food frequency questionnaire, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire). Body composition will be evaluated by bioimpedance.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by ‘Committee of ethics of research with medicines of the health area of Salamanca’ on 14 December 2018 (cod. 2018-11-136) and the ’Ethics committee for health of Guimaraes’ (Portugal) on 15 October 2019 (ref: 67/2019). All study participants will sign an informed consent form agreeing to participate in the study, in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the WHO standards for observational studies. The results of this study will allow a better description of gut microbiota in patients with arterial stiffness.Trial registration detailsClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03900338


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2412
Author(s):  
Sonia González ◽  
Marta Selma-Royo ◽  
Silvia Arboleya ◽  
Cecilia Martínez-Costa ◽  
Gonzalo Solís ◽  
...  

The early life gut microbiota has been reported to be involved in neonatal weight gain and later infant growth. Therefore, this early microbiota may constitute a target for the promotion of healthy neonatal growth and development with potential consequences for later life. Unfortunately, we are still far from understanding the association between neonatal microbiota and weight gain and growth. In this context, we evaluated the relationship between early microbiota and weight in a cohort of full-term infants. The absolute levels of specific fecal microorganisms were determined in 88 vaginally delivered and 36 C-section-delivered full-term newborns at 1 month of age and their growth up to 12 months of age. We observed statistically significant associations between the levels of some early life gut microbes and infant weight gain during the first year of life. Classifying the infants into tertiles according to their Staphylococcus levels at 1 month of age allowed us to observe a significantly lower weight at 12 months of life in the C-section-delivered infants from the highest tertile. Univariate and multivariate models pointed out associations between the levels of some fecal microorganisms at 1 month of age and weight gain at 6 and 12 months. Interestingly, these associations were different in vaginally and C-section-delivered babies. A significant direct association between Staphylococcus and weight gain at 1 month of life was observed in vaginally delivered babies, whereas in C-section-delivered infants, lower Bacteroides levels at 1 month were associated with higher later weight gain (at 6 and 12 months). Our results indicate an association between the gut microbiota and weight gain in early life and highlight potential microbial predictors for later weight gain.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyi Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyu Chen ◽  
Yuh Jiun Loh ◽  
Xin Yang ◽  
Chenhong Zhang

Abstract Background Calorie restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF) can promote metabolic health through a process that is partially mediated by gut microbiota modulation. To compare the effects of CR and IF with different dietary structures on metabolic health and the gut microbiota, we performed an experiment in which mice were subjected to a CR or IF regimen and an additional IF control (IFCtrl) group whose total energy intake was not different from that of the CR group was included. Each regimen was included for normal chow and high-fat diet. Results We showed that in normal-chow mice, the IFCtrl regimen had similar positive effects on glucose and lipid metabolism as the CR regimen, but the IF regimen showed almost no influence compared to the outcomes observed in the ad libitum group. IF also resulted in improvements, but the effects were less marked than those associate with CR and IFCtrl when the mice were fed a high-fat diet. Moreover, CR created a stable and unique gut microbial community, while the gut microbiota shaped by IF exhibited dynamic changes in fasting-refeeding cycles. At the end of each cycle, the gut microbiota of the IFCtrl mice was similar to that of the CR mice, and the gut microbiota of the IF mice was similar to that of the ad libitum group. When the abundance of Lactobacillus murinus OTU2 was high, the corresponding metabolic phenotype was improved regardless of eating pattern and dietary structure, which might be one of the key bacterial groups in the gut microbiota that is positively correlated with metabolic amelioration. Conclusion There are interactions among the amount of food intake, the diet structure, and the fasting time on metabolic health. The structure and composition of gut microbiota modified by dietary regimens might contribute to the beneficial effects on the host metabolism.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2428
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Guz ◽  
Witold Jeleniewicz ◽  
Anna Malm ◽  
Izabela Korona-Glowniak

A still growing interest between human nutrition in relation to health and disease states can be observed. Dietary components shape the composition of microbiota colonizing our gastrointestinal tract which play a vital role in maintaining human health. There is a strong evidence that diet, gut microbiota and their metabolites significantly influence our epigenome, particularly through the modulation of microRNAs. These group of small non-coding RNAs maintain cellular homeostasis, however any changes leading to impaired expression of miRNAs contribute to the development of different pathologies, including neoplastic diseases. Imbalance of intestinal microbiota due to diet is primary associated with the development of colorectal cancer as well as other types of cancers. In the present work we summarize current knowledge with particular emphasis on diet-microbiota-miRNAs axis and its relation to the development of colorectal cancer.


mSphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Tanca ◽  
Antonio Palomba ◽  
Cristina Fraumene ◽  
Valeria Manghina ◽  
Michael Silverman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Increasing evidence suggests that the intestinal microbiota is involved in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Here we sought to determine which gut microbial taxa and functions vary between nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice and genetically modified NOD mice protected from T1D (Eα16/NOD) at 10 weeks of age in the time window between insulitis development and T1D onset. The gut microbiota of NOD mice were investigated by analyzing stool samples with a metaproteogenomic approach, comprising both 16S rRNA gene sequencing and microbial proteome profiling through high-resolution mass spectrometry. A depletion of Firmicutes (particularly, several members of Lachnospiraceae) in the NOD gut microbiota was observed compared to the level in the Eα16/NOD mice microbiota. Moreover, the analysis of proteins actively produced by the gut microbiota revealed different profiles between NOD and Eα16/NOD mice, with the production of butyrate biosynthesis enzymes being significantly reduced in diabetic mice. Our results support a model for gut microbiota influence on T1D development involving bacterium-produced metabolites as butyrate. IMPORTANCE Alterations of the gut microbiota early in age have been hypothesized to impact T1D autoimmune pathogenesis. In the NOD mouse model, protection from T1D has been found to operate via modulation of the composition of the intestinal microbiota during a critical early window of ontogeny, although little is known about microbiota functions related to T1D development. Here, we show which gut microbial functions are specifically associated with protection from T1D in the time window between insulitis development and T1D onset. In particular, we describe that production of butyrate biosynthesis enzymes is significantly reduced in NOD mice, supporting the hypothesis that modulating the gut microbiota butyrate production may influence T1D development.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Fotini Filippopoulou ◽  
George I. Habeos ◽  
Vagelis Rinotas ◽  
Antonia Sophocleous ◽  
Gerasimos P. Sykiotis ◽  
...  

Glucocorticoids are used widely on a long-term basis in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Their adverse effects include the development of hyperglycemia and osteoporosis, whose molecular mechanisms have been only partially studied in preclinical models. Both these glucocorticoid-induced pathologies have been shown to be mediated at least in part by oxidative stress. The transcription factor nuclear erythroid factor 2-like 2 (NRF2) is a central regulator of antioxidant and cytoprotective responses. Thus, we hypothesized that NRF2 may play a role in glucocorticoid-induced metabolic disease and osteoporosis. To this end, WT and Nrf2 knockout (Nrf2KO) mice of both genders were treated with 2 mg/kg dexamethasone or vehicle 3 times per week for 13 weeks. Dexamethasone treatment led to less weight gain during the treatment period without affecting food consumption, as well as to lower glucose levels and high insulin levels compared to vehicle-treated mice. Dexamethasone also reduced cortical bone volume and density. All these effects of dexamethasone were similar between male and female mice, as well as between WT and Nrf2KO mice. Hepatic NRF2 signaling and gluconeogenic gene expression were not affected by dexamethasone. A 2-day dexamethasone treatment was also sufficient to increase insulin levels without affecting body weight and glucose levels. Hence, dexamethasone induces hyperinsulinemia, which potentially leads to decreased glucose levels, as well as osteoporosis, both independently of NRF2.


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