Cited by 143Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry StudiesGut microbiota and healthNutrition, Genetics, and Disease

Human metabolome variation along the upper intestinal tract

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Folz, Jacob, Culver, Rebecca Neal, Morales, Juan Montes, Grembi, Jessica, Triadafilopoulos, George, Relman, David A., Huang, Kerwyn Casey, Shalon, Dari +1 more·2023·Nature Metabolism

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Most processing of the human diet occurs in the small intestine. Metabolites in the small intestine originate from host secretions, plus the ingested exposome 1 and microbial transformations. Here we probe the spatiotemporal variation of upper intestinal luminal contents during routine daily digestion in 15 healthy male and female participants. For this, we use a non-invasive, ingestible sampling device to collect and analyse 274 intestinal samples and 60 corresponding stool homogenates by combining five mass spectrometry assays 2,3 and 16S rRNA sequencing. We identify 1,909 metabolites, including sulfonolipids and fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFA) lipids. We observe that stool and intestinal metabolomes differ dramatically. Food metabolites display trends in dietary biomarkers, unexpected increases in dicarboxylic acids along the intestinal tract and a positive association between luminal keto acids and fruit intake. Diet-derived and microbially linked metabolites account for the largest inter-individual differences. Notably, two individuals who had taken antibiotics within 6 months before sampling show large variation in levels of bioactive FAHFAs and sulfonolipids and other microbially related metabolites. From inter-individual variation, we identify Blautia species as a candidate to be involved in FAHFA metabolism. In conclusion, non-invasive, in vivo sampling of the human small intestine and ascending colon under physiological conditions reveals links between diet, host and microbial metabolism.

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  • Recent development of non-invasive, ingestible sampling devices makes it possible to collect luminal contents throughout the intestinal tract, potentially overcoming limitations of stool samples in reflecting regional variation of gut microbiota.

    “Notably, the recent development of non-invasive, ingestible sampling devices has made it possible to collect luminal contents throughout the intestinal tract, potentially overcoming the limitations of stool samples in reflecting the regional variation of gut microbiota.354,753”

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1 of the 99 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [14]Bhutia, Y. D. & Ganapathy, V. in Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Ch. 47 (Elsevier, 2018).
  2. [48]Arnaud, M. J. in Caffeine, Coffee and Health (ed Garattini, S.) 43–95 (Raven Press, 1993).

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Authors
Folz, J., Culver, R. N., Morales, J. M., Grembi, J., Triadafilopoulos, G., Relman, D. A., Huang, K. C., Shalon, D., & Fiehn, O.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • Stanford Medicine (US)
  • VA Palo Alto Health Care System (US)
  • Chan Zuckerberg Biohub San Francisco (US)
Corresponding author
Fiehn, Oliver
Venue
Nature Metabolism
Published
2023-05-10
Volume
5
Issue
5
Pages
777-788
ISSN
2522-5812 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4376132993
Cited by
143
References
99
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 17
FWCI
12.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Metabolism (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1936687)
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (R01 AT010216, U19 AG023122)
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (2021-67017-35783)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
Keywords
human metabolome, small intestine, hydroxy fatty acid ester, dietary biomarkers, dicarboxylic acids, keto acids, fruit consumption, antibiotic exposure, Blautia, gut microbiota, interindividual variability, exposome, host-microbe interactions
MeSH terms
Fatty Acids, Feces, Female, Humans, Intestine, Small, Male, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Metabolome

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