Endocrine Abstracts

The gut microbiota has co-evolved with its mammalian host and is an important factor that contributes to host metabolism. Metagenomic analyses of stool samples from patients have revealed that the gut microbiota is altered in these metabolic diseases and germ-free mice are protected against disease development. Thus, the gut microbiota has been implicated as a causative, or contributing, factor to obesity, diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. By using germ-free and conventionally raised mice we have demonstrated that the gut microbiota signals through FXR, a nuclear receptor, by removing a natural occurring FXR antagonist. FXR is an important regulator of host metabolism and microbial activation of FXR may provide a mechanism by which the gut microbiota modulates obesity and diabetes. Furthermore the gut microbiota is in close interactions with enteroendocrine cells in the gut and may affect their function through signaling by G-coupled receptors. Effects on gut microbiota on selected gut derived hormones will be discussed.