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Metabolism

Host and microbes in a pickle

Nature volume 464, pages 1287–1288 (2010)Cite this article

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An Addendum to this article was published on 05 May 2010

Metabolic disorders such as obesity are characterized by long-term, low-grade inflammation. Under certain conditions, the resident microorganisms of the gut might contribute to this inflammation, resulting in disease.

In recent decades, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome has skyrocketed worldwide, mainly owing to rapid lifestyle changes1. This cluster of disorders includes abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, high blood levels of lipids, elevated blood pressure and non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease, which all significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors influences the development of metabolic syndrome. For instance, abnormal activation of the host's innate immune system, characterized by low-grade, chronic inflammation, and a role for the gut microbiota have both been implicated in the development of these disorders. In a paper published in Science, Vijay-Kumar et al.2 indicate that complex communication between the gut microbiota and the innate immune system is involved in metabolic homeostasis.

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Figure 1: Host–microbe communication in systemic inflammation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ping Li and Gökhan S. Hotamisligil are in the Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ghotamis@hsph.harvard.edu,

    Ping Li & Gökhan S. Hotamisligil

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  1. Ping Li
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  2. Gökhan S. Hotamisligil
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Competing interests

Gökhan Hotamisligil is on the scientific advisory board, is a shareholder and receives research support from Syndexa Pharmaceuticals.

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Li, P., Hotamisligil, G. Host and microbes in a pickle. Nature 464, 1287–1288 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/4641287a

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