Abstract
It is well known that an unhealthy lifestyle is a major risk factor for metabolic diseases, while in recent years, accumulating evidence has demonstrated that the gut microbiome and its metabolites also play a crucial role in the onset and development of many metabolic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and so on. Numerous microorganisms dwell in the gastrointestinal tract, which is a key interface for energy acquisition and can metabolize dietary nutrients into many bioactive substances, thus acting as a link between the gut microbiome and its host. The gut microbiome is shaped by host genetics, immune responses and dietary factors. The metabolic and immune potential of the gut microbiome determines its significance in host health and diseases. Therefore, targeting the gut microbiome and relevant metabolic pathways would be effective therapeutic treatments for many metabolic diseases in the near future. This review will summarize information about the role of the gut microbiome in organism metabolism and the relationship between gut microbiome-derived metabolites and the pathogenesis of many metabolic diseases. Furthermore, recent advances in improving metabolic diseases by regulating the gut microbiome will be discussed.
Highlights
The worldwide prevalence of metabolic diseases, including obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), atherosclerosis (AS) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), has grown dramatically (Norman et al, 2007; Popkin et al, 2012; Younossi et al, 2016; Zheng et al, 2018; Virani et al, 2020)
The gut microbiome refers to the trillions of microorganisms that reside within the gut, including bacteria as well as viruses, fungi, archaea, phages and protozoa (Whitman et al, 1998), which have the capability to interact with the host in several ways
We are living with an enormous number of microorganisms in our guts, ranging from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and archaea to phages and protozoa
Summary
The worldwide prevalence of metabolic diseases, including obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), atherosclerosis (AS) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), has grown dramatically (Norman et al, 2007; Popkin et al, 2012; Younossi et al, 2016; Zheng et al, 2018; Virani et al, 2020). Over the past few decades, the increasing consumption of high-calorie foods and displacement of leisure-time physical activities with sedentary activities has resulted in a positive energy balance (where energy intake exceeds energy expenditure), and these have become the main risk factors for obesity and obesity-related diseases (Heymsfield and Wadden, 2017). In this situation, the adipose tissue exceeds its ability to store all the excess energy as triglycerides, causing lipids to spill out into the circulation. A prospective study demonstrated that NAFLD and NASH were associated with intestinal dysbiosis, the fecal microbiomes of children with NAFLD had lower α-diversity than those of control children, and the fecal
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