From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites

Cell. 2016 Jun 2;165(6):1332-1345. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.041.

Abstract

A compelling set of links between the composition of the gut microbiota, the host diet, and host physiology has emerged. Do these links reflect cause-and-effect relationships, and what might be their mechanistic basis? A growing body of work implicates microbially produced metabolites as crucial executors of diet-based microbial influence on the host. Here, we will review data supporting the diverse functional roles carried out by a major class of bacterial metabolites, the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs can directly activate G-coupled-receptors, inhibit histone deacetylases, and serve as energy substrates. They thus affect various physiological processes and may contribute to health and disease.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dietary Fiber / metabolism*
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile / metabolism*
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / physiology*
  • Histones / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Intestines / immunology
  • Intestines / microbiology
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Dietary Fiber
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile
  • Histones