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  • Review Article
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Signals from the gut microbiota to distant organs in physiology and disease

Abstract

The ecosystem of the human gut consists of trillions of bacteria forming a bioreactor that is fueled by dietary macronutrients to produce bioactive compounds. These microbiota-derived metabolites signal to distant organs in the body, which enables the gut bacteria to connect to the immune and hormone system, to the brain (the gut–brain axis) and to host metabolism, as well as other functions of the host. This microbe–host communication is essential to maintain vital functions of the healthy host. Recently, however, the gut microbiota has been associated with a number of diseases, ranging from obesity and inflammatory diseases to behavioral and physiological abnormalities associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. In this Review, we will discuss microbiota–host cross-talk and intestinal microbiome signaling to extraintestinal organs. We will review mechanisms of how this communication might contribute to host physiology and discuss how misconfigured signaling might contribute to different diseases.

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Figure 1: Gut microbiota convert environmental signals and dietary molecules into signaling metabolites to communicate with the host.
Figure 2: The gut microbiota communicates with host adipose tissue.
Figure 3: The gut microbiota is associated with various diseases in humans.
Figure 4: The gut microbiota communicates with the brain through the gut–brain axis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Hallén for her assistance with figures and artwork. Work in the authors' laboratory is supported by the Swedish Research Council, the NovoNordisk foundation, Torsten Söderberg's foundation, Swedish Heart Lung Foundation, Göran Gustafsson's foundation, IngaBritt och Arne Lundbergs foundation, Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation, the FP7-sponsored program METACARDIS, the regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between Region Västra Götaland and Sahlgrenska University Hospital. F.B. is a recipient of an ERC Consolidator Grant (European Research Council, Consolidator grant 615362 - METABASE). B.O.S. is a recipient of an FP7 Marie Curie IEF Fellowship (622909 MUCUS AND METABOLISM) from the European Union and a Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellowship (LT000109/2014-l).

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Schroeder, B., Bäckhed, F. Signals from the gut microbiota to distant organs in physiology and disease. Nat Med 22, 1079–1089 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4185

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