Cited by 876Gut microbiota and healthOral microbiology and periodontitis researchGastrointestinal motility and disorders

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 261 of the 261 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 219 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Understanding the Holobiont: How Microbial Metabolites Affect Human Health and Shape the Immune System

Open access
Postler, Thomas Siegmund, Ghosh, Sankar·2017·Cell Metabolism

Abstract

SUMMARY The human gastrointestinal tract is populated by a diverse, highly mutualistic microbial flora, which is known as the microbiome. Disruptions to the microbiome have been shown to be associated with severe pathologies of the host including metabolic disease, cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. Mood and behavior are also susceptible to alterations in the gut microbiota. A particularly striking example of the symbiotic effects of the microbiome is the immune system, whose cells depend critically on a diverse array of microbial metabolites for normal development and behavior. This includes metabolites that are produced by bacteria from dietary components; metabolites that are produced by the host and biochemically modified by gut bacteria; and metabolites that are synthesized de novo by gut microbes. In this review, we highlight the role of the intestinal microbiome in human metabolic and inflammatory diseases and focus in particular on the molecular mechanisms that govern the gut-immune axis.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review argues that gut microbes and their metabolites form a composite holobiont with the host, influencing metabolic and inflammatory disease as well as immune cell development. It surveys mechanisms by which dietary-, host-, and microbe-derived metabolites shape the intestinal immune system, while emphasizing unresolved mechanistic and ecological questions.

Key findings

  • Microbiome composition and function are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis. Obesity associates with increased Firmicutes relative to Bacteroidetes; transferring obese microbiota to germ-free mice causes greater weight gain than lean transfer. Type 2 diabetes microbiota produces fewer short-chain fatty acids, increasing mucosal permeability and LPS-driven inflammation; TMAO from phosphatidylcholine and l-carnitine predicts cardiovascular risk and promotes atherosclerosis in mice, though fish/TMAO and l-carnitine contradictions remain.
  • Short-chain fatty acids are major anti-inflammatory mediators. Acetate, propionate, and butyrate signal via FFAR2/FFAR3/HCAR2 and HDAC inhibition; they support epithelial barrier, neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, B cells, and regulatory T cells. Different short-chain fatty acids have distinct effects: acetate/propionate expand existing colonic regulatory T cells, while propionate/butyrate promote de novo regulatory T cell differentiation. In vivo concentrations varied from 36 to 300 mM; butyrate at 150 mM in drinking water increased colonic regulatory T cells, 36 mM did not, and 50 mM by enema did.
  • Other metabolites include indole derivatives activating AhR and PXR to support IL-22/ILC3 and barrier function; polyamines modulating NLRP6/IL-18 and macrophage cytokines; bile acids signaling through BAR/FXR and GPBAR1/TGR5 to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines; microbially derived ATP driving TH17 and P2X7-dependent IgA regulation; and polysaccharide A from Bacteroides fragilis inducing IL-10 and Treg/TH1 responses.
  • Reported quantities include: average male colonized by about 3.8×10^13 microbes versus 3.0–3.7×10^13 host cells; female about 4.4×10^13 bacteria versus 2.1×10^13 host cells; metagenomic catalog of 3.3×10^6 nonredundant microbial genes from up to 1,150 species, about 150-fold human protein-coding genes; each person hosts at least 160 species; about 10% of blood metabolites are microbiota-derived. In mouse colonic lumen, 179 metabolites were detected, 48 absent from food, 35 of those altered in germ-free mice, plus 88 food-present metabolites altered. Of 79 human intestinal strains screened, 9 (11.4%) produced TMA from choline.

Methods

  • Narrative review, not primary research; synthesizes prior human, animal, in vitro, and metagenomic/metabolomic studies.
  • Covers microbiome links to metabolic disease and immune modulation by three metabolite classes: bacterial products from diet, host metabolites modified by bacteria, and de novo microbial products.
  • Main analysis is conceptual synthesis and mechanistic discussion; no systematic search, inclusion criteria, or meta-analysis described.

Limitations

  • The paper states many mechanisms remain unresolved: most intestinal bacterial metabolome is unidentified, many known metabolites are functionally uncharacterized, bioavailability and epithelial crossing are poorly understood, TMAO mechanisms are elusive, bile-acid causality in IBD is not established, and short-chain fatty acid dosing/route effects are unclear.
  • The paper notes functional studies mostly examine single species or metabolites, whereas real gut communities may interact additively, synergistically, redundantly, or subtractively; up to 1,150 species and at least 160 per person make network complexity enormous.
  • Evident from the text: as a narrative review, it does not systematically assess study quality or bias, and many conclusions rest on mouse models, in vitro systems, or small human studies, such as the small FMT study in type 2 diabetes.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.05.008

Cites

261 of 261 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Claims the paper makes

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Show all 93 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 65
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 6
67 of 67
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Extracellular ATP primarily has pro-inflammatory properties.

    “Unlike the other microbiota-derived compounds discussed so far, extracellular ATP primarily exhibits pro-inflammatory properties.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    IL-22 supports intestinal mucosa integrity by inducing antimicrobial peptide secretion from epithelial cells, mucin production, and intestinal goblet cell proliferation.

    “Protection against these pathologies is mediated by expression of IL-22, a cytokine that supports the integrity of the intestinal mucosa by inducing the secretion of antimicrobial peptides from epithelial cells, production of mucins and proliferation of intestinal goblet cells.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Protection against the immunological pathologies of AhR deficiency is mediated by IL-22 expression.

    “Protection against these pathologies is mediated by expression of IL-22”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    T follicular helper cells in Peyer's patches foster development of B cells that produce immunoglobulins specific for intestinal bacteria, which can be secreted across the epithelium as IgA.

    “T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in the Peyer’s patches foster the development of B cells that produce immunoglobulins with specificity for intestinal bacteria, which can be secreted across the epithelium as IgA.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The human intestinal tract is believed to contain up to 1,150 bacterial species, with at least 160 present in any given individual.

    “Considering that up to 1,150 different bacterial species are believed to reside in the human intestinal tract, and at least 160 of them are present in any given individual”
5 of 5

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Metadata

Authors
Postler, T. S., & Ghosh, S.
Affiliations
  • Columbia University (US)
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
Ghosh, Sankar
Venue
Cell Metabolism
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-07
Volume
26
Issue
1
Pages
110-130
ISSN
1550-4131 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2625068954
Cited by
876
References
252
Citations by year
2026: 89 · 2025: 91 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 113 · 2022: 97 · 2021: 102 · 2020: 106 · 2019: 92 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 14
FWCI
6.78
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell Metabolism (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK102180)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
Keywords
gut microbiota, microbial metabolites, host-microbe interactions, gut-immune axis, immune system development, metabolic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, mood and behavior, dietary metabolites
MeSH terms
Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Animals, Bacteria, Humans, Immune System, Inflammation, Metabolic Diseases, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Metabolome

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