Altered Microbiota and Their Metabolism in Host Metabolic Diseases

Abstract

The mammalian intestine harbors trillions of bacteria collectively known as the gut microbiota. This menagerie of gut microbes performs diverse metabolic roles, many of which are prerequisites to maintaining their symbiotic relationship with the host. Recent years have seen a surge in studies underscoring the profound consequences of microbiota dysregulation and dysbiosis in promoting metabolic disorders. This chapter examines several key concepts and potential mechanisms that accentuate the link between gut microbiome and metabolic diseases. Accumulated data from a variety of animal and human studies indicate that a dysbiotic microbiota can play a key role in the instigation of metabolic diseases via the following potential mechanisms: increasing calorie extraction; producing obesogenic metabolites; causing metabolic endotoxemia-induced, low-grade, chronic inflammation; and reprogramming the host inflammatory/metabolic responses to favor the development of metabolic syndrome.