Gastrointestinal system articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Genome-wide association studies have so far identified eight risk loci for gallstone disease. Here, the authors perform meta-analysis in cohorts from Iceland and the UK which reveals further 21 common and low-frequency risk variants that highlight the role of bile acid homeostasis in gallstone disease.

    • Egil Ferkingstad
    • , Asmundur Oddsson
    •  & Kari Stefansson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    SLIT-ROBO alterations arise in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but their role in the pancreas is unclear. Here, the authors use mouse models to show that loss of epithelial Robo2 activates the neighbouring stroma via TGF-β signalling; findings  are relevant to PDAC patients, where ROBO expression correlates with survival outcomes.

    • Andreia V. Pinho
    • , Mathias Van Bulck
    •  & Ilse Rooman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Inflammatory bowel disease is characterised by epithelial dysfunction. Here the authors show that loss of the nuclear receptor LRH-1 leads to epithelial disruption by altering Notch signaling in mouse intestinal organoids, and that LRH-1 overexpression ameliorates immune-mediated colitis in a mouse model.

    • James R. Bayrer
    • , Hongtao Wang
    •  & Holly A. Ingraham

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coordinated proliferation and differentiation of diverse cell populations drive pancreatic epithelial and mesenchymal development. Here, the authors profile cell type dynamics in the developing mouse pancreas using single-cell RNA sequencing, identifying mesenchymal subtypes and undescribed endocrine progenitors.

    • Lauren E. Byrnes
    • , Daniel M. Wong
    •  & Julie B. Sneddon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The role of the gut microbiota in hepatic lipid metabolism is controversial and incompletely understood. Here the authors perform multi-omics analyses of altered lipid metabolic processes in germ-free and specific pathogen-free mice, revealing how the gut microbiota affects hepatic fatty acid desaturation and elongation.

    • Alida Kindt
    • , Gerhard Liebisch
    •  & Josef Ecker

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Gut microbial metabolites are known to impact many physiological processes of the host and play a critical role in immune-homeostasis. Here the authors review our current understanding and appreciation of the importance of microbially derived tryptophan catabolites during both health and disease.

    • Henrik M. Roager
    •  & Tine R. Licht

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gut microbial dysbiosis in infancy is associated with childhood atopy and the development of asthma. Here, the authors show that gut microbiota perturbation is evident in the very earliest stages of postnatal life, continues throughout infancy, and can be partially rescued by Lactobacillus supplementation in high-risk for asthma infants.

    • Juliana Durack
    • , Nikole E. Kimes
    •  & Susan V. Lynch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) are a main class of metabolites derived from fermentation of dietary fibre in the intestine. Here, the authors show that dietary administration of SCFA is associated with inhibition of osteoclast differentiation, increased bone mass, and reduced pathological bone loss in mice.

    • Sébastien Lucas
    • , Yasunori Omata
    •  & Mario M. Zaiss

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There is a need for humanised grafts to treat patients with intestinal failure. Here, the authors generate intestinal grafts by recellularizing native intestinal matrix with human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived epithelium and human endothelium, and show nutrient absorption after transplantation in rats.

    • Kentaro Kitano
    • , Dana M. Schwartz
    •  & Harald C. Ott

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Βeta-cells have recently been shown to be heterogeneous with regard to morphology and function. Here, the authors show that β-cells in zebrafish switch from proliferative to functional states with increasing time since β-cell birth, leading to functional and proliferative heterogeneity.

    • Sumeet Pal Singh
    • , Sharan Janjuha
    •  & Nikolay Ninov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Human liver chimeric mice are increasingly used for drug testing in preclinical development, but express residual murine p450 cytochromes. Here the authors generate mice lacking the Por gene in the liver, and show that human cytochrome metabolism is used following repopulation with human hepatocytes.

    • Mercedes Barzi
    • , Francis P. Pankowicz
    •  & Karl-Dimiter Bissig

  • Article
    | Open Access

    M cells are intestinal epithelial cells that are specialized to transcytose antigens and bacteria from the intestinal lumen to antigen presenting cells on the other side. Here the authors show that the actin-binding protein Aif1 is highly expressed by intestinal M cells and regulates this transcytosis.

    • Sari Kishikawa
    • , Shintaro Sato
    •  & Hiroshi Kiyono

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mice deficient in the pro-inflammatory cytokine IFNγ have improved glucose tolerance. Here, the authors show that this effect depends on the gut microbeAkkermansia muciniphila, whose abundance increases in the absence IFNγ, and which is known to have beneficial effects on host metabolism.

    • Renee L. Greer
    • , Xiaoxi Dong
    •  & Natalia Shulzhenko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diabetes is associated with the de-differentiation of β-cells into a more progenitor-like cell type. Here, the authors identify Aldh3 as a marker of de-differentiating β-cell in animal models of diabetes, and show Aldh3+cells have impaired insulin secretion and mitochondrial dysfunction.

    • Ja Young Kim-Muller
    • , Jason Fan
    •  & Domenico Accili

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The accessory olfactory system (AOS) processes social chemosensory information and guides behaviors that are important for survival and reproduction in mammals. Here the authors report that mouse feces are a source of AOS neuronal activity and identify unconjugated bile acids in feces as a class of natural AOS ligands.

    • Wayne I. Doyle
    • , Jordan A. Dinser
    •  & Julian P. Meeks

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The interactions between gut bacteria and enteric pathogens are poorly understood. Here, Yoon et al. show that subinhibitory antibiotic treatment in a mouse model leads to overgrowth of an E. coli strain carrying a catalase-encoding gene that enhances infection with the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae.

    • Mi Young Yoon
    • , Kyung Bae Min
    •  & Sang Sun Yoon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular basis of the basal tone generated by internal anal sphincters (IAS) is largely unknown. Here, the authors show that the tone arises from a global rise in intracellular Ca2+ in smooth muscle cells via a Ryanodine receptor-TMEM16A-L-type Ca2+channel-MLC kinase pathway, suggesting a potential therapy for IAS motility disorders.

    • Cheng-Hai Zhang
    • , Pei Wang
    •  & Min-Sheng Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Commensal microbes are necessary for proper development of the immune system. Here Zanvit et al. show that neonatal antibiotics treatment causes long-term changes in the gut and skin microbiomes, and exacerbates immune-mediated skin pathology at adult age in mouse experimental models of psoriasis.

    • Peter Zanvit
    • , Joanne E. Konkel
    •  & WanJun Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The inner layer of the mucus that covers our intestine is nearly sterile. Here, the authors show in mice that the outer mucus layer constitutes a unique microbial niche hosting bacterial communities with distinct proliferation rates and resource utilization activities.

    • Hai Li
    • , Julien P. Limenitakis
    •  & Andrew J. Macpherson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The potential recovery of the human gut microbiota after an antibiotic treatment, and its effects on our health, are poorly understood. Here, the authors use a mouse model mimicking paediatric antibiotic use to shed new light into these processes.

    • Yael R. Nobel
    • , Laura M. Cox
    •  & Martin J. Blaser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The human gut microbiota helps us to degrade complex dietary carbohydrates such as xylan and, in turn, the carbohydrate breakdown products control the structure of the microbiota. Here the authors characterize the xylan-degrading apparatus of a key member of the gut microbiota, Bacteroides ovatus.

    • Artur Rogowski
    • , Jonathon A. Briggs
    •  & David N. Bolam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ganoderma lucidumis a medicinal mushroom used in Traditional Chinese Medicine with putative anti-diabetic properties. Here, the authors show that polysaccharides from a water extract of this mushroom exert beneficial metabolic effects by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota in mice.

    • Chih-Jung Chang
    • , Chuan-Sheng Lin
    •  & Hsin-Chih Lai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bile acids are important for the absorption of nutrients. Here the authors provide a molecular explanation for the oscillatory release of bile acids, showing that diurnal expression of the transcription factor KLF15 regulates FGF15 secretion from enterocytes, which then inhibits bile acid synthesis in the liver.

    • Shuxin Han
    • , Rongli Zhang
    •  & Mukesh K. Jain

  • Article |

    Metabolites produced by the gut microbiota can potentially affect our physiology. Here, the authors present a metabolomics strategy that models microbiota metabolism as a reaction network and uses pathway analysis to facilitate identification and characterization of microbial metabolites.

    • Gautham V. Sridharan
    • , Kyungoh Choi
    •  & Arul Jayaraman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The liver is an important regulator of glucose homeostasis. Here, the authors provide insight into the molecular signalling pathways controlling hepatic gluconeogenesis by showing that SIK protein kinases suppress gluconeogenesis, and that glucagon—but not insulin—regulates phosphorylation of SIK2.

    • Kashyap Patel
    • , Marc Foretz
    •  & Kei Sakamoto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diet variations can alter gut microbial composition, but the potential influence of host genetic factors on these effects is unclear. Here, the authors show, in humans and in natural and laboratory fish populations, that such effects are dependent on the host’s sex, a genetically determined factor.

    • Daniel I. Bolnick
    • , Lisa K. Snowberg
    •  & Richard Svanbäck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Intestinal microbes can have important effects on our health. Here, the authors analyse the gut microbiota composition in 1,000 western adults and find that certain bacteria are either abundant or nearly absent, and that these alternative states are associated with ageing and overweight.

    • Leo Lahti
    • , Jarkko Salojärvi
    •  & Willem M. de Vos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gut microbes influence our health and may contribute to human adaptation to different lifestyles. Here, the authors describe the gut microbiome of a community of hunter-gatherers and identify unique features that could be linked to a foraging lifestyle.

    • Stephanie L. Schnorr
    • , Marco Candela
    •  & Alyssa N. Crittenden

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Patients with oesophageal diseases may require surgical removal and replacement of the oesophagus. Here the authors seed mesenchymal stromal cells on a decellularized rat oesophagus and show that this bioengineered tissue construct restores swallowing function after transplantation into rats.

    • Sebastian Sjöqvist
    • , Philipp Jungebluth
    •  & Paolo Macchiarini

  • Article |

    Gut-associated Peyer’s patches are lymphoid tissues that generate IgA-secreting cells, however less is known about related caecal patches. Here, Masahata et al.show that caecal patches produce IgA-positive B cells that migrate to the intestines to maintain faecal microbiota homeostasis.

    • Kazunori Masahata
    • , Eiji Umemoto
    •  & Kiyoshi Takeda

  • Article |

    It remains unclear whether colorectal cancer metastases in the liver arise from intermediate metastases in the lymph nodes or directly from the primary tumour. Enquist et al.demonstrate lymph node-independent metastasis using a mouse model in which tumours are transplanted directly onto the luminal surface of the colon.

    • Ida B. Enquist
    • , Zinaida Good
    •  & Kevin G. Leong

  • Article |

    The segmentation motor activity of the small intestine is believed to be a result of alternating inhibitory and excitatory neural activity. Huizinga et al.show that the segmentation motor pattern is in fact a result of phase–amplitude interactions of slow-wave activities generated by two networks of interstitial cells of Cajal.

    • Jan D. Huizinga
    • , Ji-Hong Chen
    •  & David Chen

  • Article |

    Antibiotics alter the intestinal microbiota and facilitate colonization of pathogens such as Clostridium difficile. Here, the authors show that antibiotic-induced shifts in the mouse gut microbiome are correlated with changes in levels of certain metabolites that C. difficilecan use for germination and growth.

    • Casey M. Theriot
    • , Mark J. Koenigsknecht
    •  & Vincent B. Young

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Gastrointestinal system across other nature.com journals