There are little foreign invaders living in the human gut. A recent study involving identical twins that differ in weight (one lean and one obese) showed that when the fecal microbiota of each twin was injected into the germ-free gut of different mice, the mice developed similar body types as the twin whose microbiota it received. At a molecular level, mice with the lean twin microbiota produced more short chain fatty acids that allowed it to stay thin. In contrast, the metabolism of bulky amino acids increased in mice with microbiota of the obese twin. Furthermore, it was found that when lean and obese mice lived in the same area, the obese mice reduced their production of fat due to transformation of their microbiota from environmental microbes received from the lean mice. These findings showed that perhaps having the correct microbes does not only help control body weight, but it can also transform the microbiota of other individuals.
Figure from Kunkel D. (2007) depicting b. vulgaris, a bacteria found at different levels in the guts of both mice.
No comments:
Post a Comment