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Regulating inflammation with microbial metabolites

Nature Medicine volume 22, pages 581–583 (2016)Cite this article

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Two new studies in mice show that the gut microbiota produces metabolites from dietary tryptophan that regulate inflammation in the gut and central nervous system.

It is well established that host–microbe interactions are a fundamental component underlying health and disease1. A key parameter in maintaining a state of healthy mutualism between humans and the microbiome is that the microbiota generates unique metabolites that both provide the host with nutrients and are also involved in the regulation of immune development. The tissue microenvironment determines the composition of the microbiota, and hence altering the intake of dietary components such as sugar, fat or fiber—which function as energy sources for bacteria2,3—can influence which microbial species thrive in the gut. By contrast, alterations in host immunity, either as a result of genetic variation or concurrent infections, can also influence the microbiota in the gut. For example, mice that lack the gene encoding a pattern recognition receptor for bacterial flagellum, toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5), have a bloom of gut bacteria with more flagella due to the lack of immune responsiveness to flagella4.

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Figure 1: Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is a common constituent of protein-based foods (for example, eggs, fish, meat and cheese).

Kim Caesar/Nature Publishing Group

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Acknowledgements

B.J.M. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant 310030-166210.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Benjamin J. Marsland is at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Service de Pneumologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.,

    Benjamin J Marsland

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  1. Benjamin J Marsland
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Correspondence to Benjamin J Marsland.

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Marsland, B. Regulating inflammation with microbial metabolites. Nat Med 22, 581–583 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4117

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