Scientists at Harvard University have discovered a group of tiny chemical compounds, called metabolites, that travel from the intestine to the liver and then to the heart.
From there, they move through the bloodstream to the rest of the body. These metabolites play an important role in how the liver works and how sensitive the body is to insulin.
This discovery could lead to new ways to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes. The research was published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
Dr. Vitor Rosetto Muñoz, one of the main researchers, explained that the hepatic portal vein is the first place where substances from the gut microbiome—bacteria living in the intestines—reach the liver.
Once in the liver, these substances can be changed or broken down before they spread throughout the body. By comparing blood samples taken from this vein and from general circulation, the researchers could see which metabolites were coming from the gut and how they affected the liver.
For years, scientists have known that the gut microbiome plays a big role in health, especially in how the body handles food and stores fat. People with obesity and diabetes often have different gut bacteria than people without these conditions. But until now, it wasn’t clear which bacterial compounds made the difference or how they affected the body.
In this study, researchers looked at blood samples from mice with different risks for obesity and diabetes. They found 111 metabolites in the blood from the hepatic portal vein in healthy mice, but only 48 in mice that were fed a high-fat diet and were more likely to develop these diseases.
This means that what we eat can greatly change the types and number of helpful compounds our gut bacteria produce.
They also found that the mix of metabolites varied depending on the genetic makeup of the mice. Some mice were more resistant to metabolic diseases and had a different set of metabolites. This shows that both our genes and our environment—like what we eat—interact with the bacteria in our gut to shape our overall health.
To dig deeper, the researchers gave certain mice an antibiotic that reduced specific gut bacteria. This changed the levels of metabolites in the blood. One compound that increased was mesaconate, which is part of the cell’s energy-making process.
When scientists added mesaconate to liver cells in the lab, it helped improve insulin response and regulated genes that control fat storage and fat burning in the liver.
This means that some of the compounds made by our gut bacteria could help prevent or treat metabolic problems like obesity and type 2 diabetes. The researchers now want to study each metabolite more closely to understand exactly how they are formed and what they do in the body.
In the future, this work could lead to the discovery of new treatments for metabolic diseases by using or mimicking the helpful chemicals made by gut bacteria.
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