From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites.
A compelling set of links between the composition of the gut microbiota, the host diet, and host physiology has emerged. Do these links reflect cause-and-effect relationships, and what might be their mechanistic basis? A growing body of work implicates microbially produced metabolites as crucial executors of diet-based microbial influence on the host. Here, we will review data supporting the diverse functional roles carried out by a major class of bacterial metabolites, the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs can directly activate G-coupled-receptors, inhibit histone deacetylases, and serve as energy substrates. They thus affect various physiological processes and may contribute to health and disease.
Wallenberg Laboratory and Sahlgrenska Center for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Ara
A
Koh
Wallenberg Laboratory and Sahlgrenska Center for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Filipe
F
De Vadder
Wallenberg Laboratory and Sahlgrenska Center for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Petia
P
Kovatcheva-Datchary
Wallenberg Laboratory and Sahlgrenska Center for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section for Metabolic Receptology and Enteroendocrinology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 København, Denmark. Electronic address: fredrik@wlab.gu.se.
Fredrik
F
Bäckhed
D000818:Animals; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000502:physiology*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D015398:Signal Transduction
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D006657:Histones