Polyunsaturated fatty acid saturation by gut lactic acid bacteria affecting host lipid composition

TLDR

Microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract interact with their host and generate diverse fatty acids that can influence host health. The study aims to investigate whether gut microbial lipid metabolism can be harnessed to improve health by modulating lipid pathways linked to metabolic syndrome. Lactobacillus plantarum converts polyunsaturated fatty acids into hydroxy, oxo, conjugated, and partially saturated trans intermediates, and mouse studies show that gut microbial metabolism alters host fatty‑acid composition.

Abstract

Significance Microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract interact with their host in many ways. Lipid metabolism by gastrointestinal microbes generates multiple fatty acid species that can affect host health. In the representative gut bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum , we revealed a fatty acid metabolism, saturation metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acid, that generates hydroxy fatty acids, oxo fatty acids, conjugated fatty acids, and partially saturated trans -fatty acids as intermediates. Furthermore, fatty acid analysis in mice suggests that the fatty acid metabolism by gastrointestinal microbes modifies fatty acid composition of the host. Therefore, functional investigations of lipid metabolisms of gastrointestinal microbes may provide new methods for improving our health by altering lipid metabolism related to the onset of metabolic syndrome.