An early-life microbiota metabolite protects against obesity by regulating intestinal lipid metabolism

The mechanisms by which the early-life microbiota protects against environmental factors that promote childhood obesity remain largely unknown. Using a mouse model in which young mice are simultaneously exposed to antibiotics and a high-fat (HF) diet, we show that Lactobacillus species, predominant members of the small intestine (SI) microbiota, regulate intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) to limit diet-induced obesity during early life. A Lactobacillus-derived metabolite, phenyllactic acid (PLA), protects against metabolic dysfunction caused by early-life exposure to antibiotics and a HF diet by increasing the abundance of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) in SI IECs. Therefore, PLA is a microbiota-derived metabolite that activates protective pathways in the small intestinal epithelium to regulate intestinal lipid metabolism and prevent antibiotic-associated obesity during early life.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium uses anaerobic respiration to overcome propionate-mediated colonization resistance

The gut microbiota benefits the host by limiting enteric pathogen expansion (colonization resistance), partially via the production of inhibitory metabolites. Propionate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by microbiota members, is proposed to mediate colonization resistance against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Tm). Here, we show that S. Tm overcomes the inhibitory effects of propionate by using it as a carbon source for anaerobic respiration. We determine that propionate metabolism provides an inflammation-dependent colonization advantage to S. Tm during infection. Such benefit is abolished in the intestinal lumen of Salmonella-infected germ-free mice. Interestingly, S. Tm propionate-mediated intestinal expansion is restored when germ-free mice are monocolonized with Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (B. theta), a prominent propionate producer in the gut, but not when mice are monocolonized with a propionate-production-deficient B. theta strain. Taken together, our results reveal a strategy used by S. Tm to mitigate colonization resistance by metabolizing microbiota-derived propionate

Propionate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by the gut microbiota, is proposed to mediate colonization resistance against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Tm). Here, Shelton et al. show that nitrate-dependent propionate metabolism fuels pathogen expansion in the inflamed gut, allowing S. Tm to overcome propionate’s inhibitory effects.

High-fat diet-induced colonocyte dysfunction escalates microbiota-derived trimethylamine N-oxide

A Western-style, high-fat diet promotes cardiovascular disease, in part because it is rich in choline, which is converted to trimethylamine (TMA) by the gut microbiota. However, whether diet-induced changes in intestinal physiology can alter the metabolic capacity of the microbiota remains unknown. Using a mouse model of diet-induced obesity, we show that chronic exposure to a high-fat diet escalates Escherichia coli choline catabolism by altering intestinal epithelial physiology. A high-fat diet impaired the bioenergetics of mitochondria in the colonic epithelium to increase the luminal bioavailability of oxygen and nitrate, thereby intensifying respiration-dependent choline catabolism of E. coli In turn, E. coli choline catabolism increased levels of circulating trimethlamine N-oxide, which is a potentially harmful metabolite generated by gut microbiota.

TAKing on cancer

In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe,Xing et al. (2021) show that gut microbiota confer resistance to colitis and colon cancer by stimulating IL-6 and IL-1β production and Th17 cell expansion. Their findings reveal that even a single bacterial strain, Odoribacter splanchnicus, can confer protective immunity against cancer.

Western lifestyle as a driver of dysbiosis in colorectal cancer

Landmark discoveries in the gut microbiome field have paved the way for new research aimed at illuminating the influence of microbiota in colorectal cancer. A major challenge is to account for the effect of inherently variable environmental factors on the host and the gut microbiome, while concurrently determining their contribution to carcinogenesis. Here, we briefly discuss the role of the gut microbial community in colorectal cancer and elaborate on the recent insight that environmental factors related to a Western diet and lifestyle may drive the bloom of tumorigenic members of the gut microbiota. We also discuss how future research focused on untangling host-microbe interactions in the colon may influence medical insights that relate to the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer.

Summary: This Perspective explores the mechanistic insights and future research directions connecting Western lifestyle-induced changes in colonic epithelial physiology with the outgrowth of tumorigenic bacteria that contribute to colorectal cancer pathogenesis.

An alternative N-terminal fold of the intestine-specific annexin A13a induces dimerization and regulates membrane-binding

Annexin proteins function as Ca²⁺-dependent regulators of membrane trafficking and repair that may also modulate membrane curvature. Here, using high-resolution confocal imaging, we report that the intestine-specific annexin A13 (ANX A13) localizes to the tips of intestinal microvilli and determined the crystal structure of the ANX A13a isoform to 2.6 Å resolution. The structure revealed that the N terminus exhibits an alternative fold that converts the first two helices and the associated helix-loop-helix motif into a continuous α-helix, as stabilized by a domain-swapped dimer. We also found that the dimer is present in solution and partially occludes the membrane-binding surfaces of annexin, suggesting that dimerization may function as a means for regulating membrane binding. Accordingly, as revealed by in vitro binding and cellular localization assays, ANX A13a variants that favor a monomeric state exhibited increased membrane association relative to variants that favor the dimeric form. Together, our findings support a mechanism for how the association of the ANX A13a isoform with the membrane is regulated.

Structural organization of membrane-inserted hexamers formed by Helicobacter pylori VacA toxin

Helicobacter pylori colonizes the human stomach and is a potential cause of peptic ulceration or gastric adenocarcinoma. H. pylori secretes a pore-forming toxin known as vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA). The 88 kDa secreted VacA protein, composed of an N-terminal p33 domain and a C-terminal p55 domain, assembles into water-soluble oligomers. The structural organization of membrane-bound VacA has not been characterized in any detail and the role(s) of specific VacA domains in membrane binding and insertion are unclear. We show that membrane-bound VacA organizes into hexameric oligomers. Comparison of the two-dimensional averages of membrane-bound and soluble VacA hexamers generated using single particle electron microscopy reveals a structural difference in the central region of the oligomers (corresponding to the p33 domain), suggesting that membrane association triggers a structural change in the p33 domain. Analyses of the isolated p55 domain and VacA variants demonstrate that while the p55 domain can bind membranes, the p33 domain is required for membrane insertion. Surprisingly, neither VacA oligomerization nor the presence of putative transmembrane GXXXG repeats in the p33 domain is required for membrane insertion. These findings provide new insights into the process by which VacA binds and inserts into the lipid bilayer to form membrane channels.

An Overview of Helicobacter pylori VacA Toxin Biology

The VacA toxin secreted by Helicobacter pylori enhances the ability of the bacteria to colonize the stomach and contributes to the pathogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma and peptic ulcer disease. The amino acid sequence and structure of VacA are unrelated to corresponding features of other known bacterial toxins. VacA is classified as a pore-forming toxin, and many of its effects on host cells are attributed to formation of channels in intracellular sites. The most extensively studied VacA activity is its capacity to stimulate vacuole formation, but the toxin has many additional effects on host cells. Multiple cell types are susceptible to VacA, including gastric epithelial cells, parietal cells, T cells, and other types of immune cells. This review focuses on the wide range of VacA actions that are detectable in vitro, as well as actions of VacA in vivo that are relevant for H. pylori colonization of the stomach and development of gastric disease.