Cited by 1,904Gut microbiota and healthInflammatory Bowel DiseaseMicroscopic Colitis

Dietary-fat-induced taurocholic acid promotes pathobiont expansion and colitis in Il10-/- mice

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Devkota, Suzanne, Wang, Yunwei, Musch, Mark W., Leone, Vanessa, Fehlner-Peach, Hannah, Nadimpalli, Anuradha, Antonopoulos, Dionysios A., Jabri, Bana +1 more·2012·Nature

Abstract

The composite human microbiome of Western populations has probably changed over the past century, brought on by new environmental triggers that often have a negative impact on human health. Here we show that consumption of a diet high in saturated (milk-derived) fat, but not polyunsaturated (safflower oil) fat, changes the conditions for microbial assemblage and promotes the expansion of a low-abundance, sulphite-reducing pathobiont, Bilophila wadsworthia. This was associated with a pro-inflammatory T helper type 1 (T(H)1) immune response and increased incidence of colitis in genetically susceptible Il10(−/−), but not wild-type mice. These effects are mediated by milk-derived-fat-promoted taurine conjugation of hepatic bile acids, which increases the availability of organic sulphur used by sulphite-reducing microorganisms like B. wadsworthia. When mice were fed a low-fat diet supplemented with taurocholic acid, but not with glycocholic acid, for example, a bloom of B. wadsworthia and development of colitis were observed in Il10(−/−) mice. Together these data show that dietary fats, by promoting changes in host bile acid composition, can markedly alter conditions for gut microbial assemblage, resulting in dysbiosis that can perturb immune homeostasis. The data provide a plausible mechanistic basis by which Western-type diets high in certain saturated fats might increase the prevalence of complex immune-mediated diseases like inflammatory bowel disease in genetically susceptible hosts.

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  • A milk-fat-rich diet expanded the immunogenic sulfite-reducing pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia in both Il10−/− mice and mice with an intact Il10 gene.

    “In Il10−/− mice and mice without disruption of this gene, a diet high in saturated (milk-derived) fat (MF) promoted expansion of the immunogenic sulfite-reducing pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia, a member of the Deltaproteobacteria.174”
  • Bilophila wadsworthia, a sulphite-reducing bacteria, has been associated with an increased incidence of colitis, and emerges under pathological conditions such as appendicitis and other intestinal inflammatory disorders.

    “Bilophila wadsworthia, a sulphite-reducing bacteria, has been associated with an increased incidence of colitis [52], and emerges under pathological conditions such as appendicitis and other intestinal inflammatory disorders [52].”
  • Milk fat consumption alters bile acid composition, promotes expansion of the sulfite-reducing pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia, and exacerbates colitis in IL10 knockout mice.

    “Consumption of milk fat has been shown to alter bile acid composition, promoting expansion of the sulphite-reducing pathobiont Bilophila wadsworthia and exacerbating colitis in IL10 knockout mice69.”
  • In mice without IL-10, B. wadsworthia worsens intestinal inflammation.

    “B. wadsworthia increases gut inflammation in mice that lack in the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10.”
  • Mice given high milk fat or taurocholic acid have higher amounts of Bilophila wadsworthia.

    “Levels of the bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia increase when mice are fed a diet rich in milk fat or supplemented with the bile acid taurocholic acid111.”

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Authors
Devkota, S., Wang, Y., Musch, M. W., Leone, V., Fehlner-Peach, H., Nadimpalli, A., Antonopoulos, D. A., Jabri, B., & Chang, E. B.
Affiliations
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • Argonne National Laboratory (US)
Corresponding author
Chang, Eugene B.
Venue
Nature
Published
2012-06-13
Volume
487
Issue
7405
Pages
104-108
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2151798187
Cited by
1,904
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 106 · 2025: 137 · 2024: 144 · 2023: 140 · 2022: 164 · 2021: 162 · 2020: 139 · 2019: 144 · 2018: 133 · 2017: 144 · 2016: 125 · 2015: 115 · 2014: 118 · 2013: 103 · 2012: 26
FWCI
46.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK047722, DK-47722, R37DK047722, R01DK097268, T32DK007074, UH3DK083993, DK42086, P30DK042086)
  • National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (F31AT006073)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Microscopic Colitis
Keywords
taurocholate, milk fat, saturated fatty acids, Bilophila wadsworthia, colitis, IL-10-deficient mice, bile acid conjugation, taurine, gut dysbiosis, inflammatory bowel disease, Th1 response, Western diet, unsaturated fatty acids, safflower oil, gut microbiota
MeSH terms
Animals, Bile Acids and Salts, Colitis, Dietary Fats, Inflammation, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Milk, Molecular Sequence Data, Safflower Oil, Sulfites, Taurine, Taurocholic Acid, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Interleukin-10, Th1 Cells, Diet, Fat-Restricted, Bilophila, Mice, Metagenome

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