Could Regulating Gut Microbe Functions Fight Obesity?
Written by Victoria Stewart
Edited by Emily Fucarino
February 9th, 2023
Edited by Emily Fucarino
February 9th, 2023
Research
In the past few decades, researchers have traced links between the gut microbial communities in healthy individuals and those that often found in obese individuals. Much of contemporary anti-obesity research focuses on the impact of changing the make-up of these communities to improve gut function and potentially treat obesity. However, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have proposed an alternative: controlling the constituents of the gut microbes via targeting the function of specific obesity-linked microbes themselves.
Microbes in the gut produce metabolites which affect the host. These metabolites can be essential nutrients for the host, or can cause harm, depending on the microbe. Notable groups of bacteria in the human gut microbiota include numerous genera in Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Actinobacteria, Streptococci and many others. Studies indicate a link between a high Firmicute:Bacteroidetes ratio and obesity, as a result of the microbes metabolite production inside of the gut. Instead of focusing on treatment that destroys the entire gut microbiome, such as antibiotics, researchers homed in on this harmful metabolite production process. Specifically, researchers altered the microbial pathways for harmful metabolites linked to obesity and other gut diseases.
In the Cleveland clinic study, researchers utilized an inhibitor called IMC, which inhibits a microbial pathway common among gut microbe species linked to obesity. This pathway was found to be the TMAO pathway commonly linked to obesity and obesity linked conditions such as atherosclerosis . They found that mice that were treated with IMC had a lower Firmicute:Bacteroidetes ratio, suggesting that the inhibition of this TMAO pathway altered the diversity ratio associated with obesity, rather than just destroying all of the microbes in the gut.
This study was conducted in mice, but could potentially mean groundbreaking advancement for human use. Instead of drugs that sacrifice swathes of helpful bacteria to rid of the harmful sort, there is now a growing focus on a more targeted approach that specifically rids chemical processes attributed to harmful bacteria, but spares the rest of the community. An even greater application could mean working towards a remedy against obesity, one gut microbe at a time.