The Gut Microbiome, Energy Homeostasis, and Implications for Hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
The influence of gut bacteria upon host physiology is increasingly recognized, but mechanistic links are lacking. Diseases of energetic imbalance such as obesity and diabetes represent major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. Thus, here, we review current mechanistic contributions of the gut microbiota to host energetics.


RESULTS
Gut bacteria generate a multitude of small molecules which can signal to host tissues within and beyond the gastrointestinal tract to influence host physiology, and gut bacteria can also influence host digestive efficiency by altering the bioavailability of polysaccharides, yet the quantitative energetic effects of these processes remain unclear. Recently, our team has demonstrated that gut bacteria constitute a major anaerobic thermogenic biomass, which can quantitatively account for obesity. Quantitative understanding of the mechanisms by which gut bacteria influence energy homeostasis may ultimately inform the relationship between gut bacteria and cardiovascular dysfunction.
Department of Pharmacology, University of Iowa, 51 Newton Rd., 2-307 BSB, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
Ruth A
RA
Riedl
Department of Informatics, subtract Bioinformatics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.|Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, BSB - 2nd Floor - Room 230, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA.
Samantha N
SN
Atkinson
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Colin M L
CML
Burnett
Department of Pharmacology, University of Iowa, 51 Newton Rd., 2-307 BSB, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA. justin-grobe@uiowa.edu.|Iowa Microbiology Microbiome Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. justin-grobe@uiowa.edu.|Obesity Research & Education Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. justin-grobe@uiowa.edu.|Center for Hypertension Research, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. justin-grobe@uiowa.edu.|Fraternal Order of Eagles' Diabetes Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. justin-grobe@uiowa.edu.
Justin L
JL
Grobe
Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. jkirby@mcw.edu.|Iowa Microbiology Microbiome Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. jkirby@mcw.edu.|Obesity Research & Education Initiative, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. jkirby@mcw.edu.|Fraternal Order of Eagles' Diabetes Research Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA. jkirby@mcw.edu.|Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, BSB - 2nd Floor - Room 230, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53226, USA. jkirby@mcw.edu.
John R
JR
Kirby
D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension; D009765:Obesity
Bacteria; Energetics; Energy; Metabolism; Microbiome; Microbiota