One Gut Bacterium Could Be Key to Fixing Diet-Related Intestinal Damage
Researchers identified a specific gut bacteria, Blautia coccoides, that protects the colon's mucus lining—a critical defense against infection and disease. The finding suggests a potential probiotic or drug target to reverse intestinal damage caused by low-fiber diets, opening new commercial opportunities in functional foods and therapeutics for digestive health.
Originaltitel: The gut commensal Blautia maintains colonic mucus function under low-fiber consumption through secretion of short-chain fatty acids
<p>Beneficial gut bacteria are indispensable for developing colonic mucus and fully establishing its protective function against intestinal microorganisms. Low-fiber diet consumption alters the gut bacterial configuration and disturbs this microbe-mucus interaction, but the specific bacteria and microbial metabolites responsible for maintaining mucus function remain poorly understood. By using human-to-mouse microbiota transplantation and ex vivo analysis of colonic mucus function, we here show as a proof-of-concept that individuals who increase their daily dietary fiber intake can improve the capacity of their gut microbiota to prevent diet-mediated mucus defects. Mucus growth, a critical feature of intact colonic mucus, correlated with the abundance of the gut commensal Blautia, and supplementation of Blautia coccoides to mice confirmed its mucus-stimulating capacity. Mechanistically, B. coccoides stimulated mucus growth through the production of the short-chain fatty acids propionate and acetate via activation of the short-chain fatty acid receptor Ffar2, which could serve as a new target to restore mucus growth during mucus-associated lifestyle diseases.</p>