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Akbuğa-Schön T, Suzuki TA, Jakob D, Vu DL, Waters JL, Ley RE. The keystone gut species Christensenella minuta boosts gut microbial biomass and voluntary physical activity in mice. mBio 2024; 15:e0283623. [PMID: 38132571 PMCID: PMC10865807 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02836-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The gut bacteria of the family Christensenellaceae are consistently associated with metabolic health, but their role in promoting host health is not fully understood. Here, we explored the effect of Christensenella minuta amendment on voluntary physical activity and the gut microbiome. We inoculated male and female germ-free mice with an obese human donor microbiota together with live or heat-killed C. minuta for 28 days and measured physical activity in respirometry cages. Compared to heat-killed, the live-C. minuta treatment resulted in reduced feed efficiency and higher levels of physical activity, with significantly greater distance traveled for males and higher levels of small movements and resting metabolic rate in females. Sex-specific effects of C. minuta treatment may be in part attributable to different housing conditions for males and females. Amendment with live C. minuta boosted gut microbial biomass in both sexes, immobilizing dietary carbon in the microbiome, and mice with high levels of C. minuta lose more energy in stool. Live C. minuta also reduced within and between-host gut microbial diversity. Overall, our results showed that C. minuta acts as a keystone species: despite low relative abundance, it has a large impact on its ecosystem, from the microbiome to host energy homeostasis.IMPORTANCEThe composition of the human gut microbiome is associated with human health. Within the human gut microbiome, the relative abundance of the bacterial family Christensenellaceae has been shown to correlate with metabolic health and a lean body type. The mechanisms underpinning this effect remain unclear. Here, we show that live C. minuta influences host physical activity and metabolic energy expenditure, accompanied by changes in murine metabolism and the gut microbial community in a sex-dependent manner in comparison to heat-killed C. minuta. Importantly, live C. minuta boosts the biomass of the microbiome in the gut, and a higher level of C. minuta is associated with greater loss of energy in stool. These observations indicate that modulation of activity levels and changes to the microbiome are ways in which the Christensenellaceae can influence host energy homeostasis and health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Akbuğa-Schön
- Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Taichi A. Suzuki
- Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dennis Jakob
- Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dai Long Vu
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jillian L. Waters
- Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ruth E. Ley
- Department of Microbiome Science, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence EXC 2124 Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Hart NH, Wallen MP, Farley MJ, Haywood D, Boytar AN, Secombe K, Joseph R, Chan RJ, Kenkhuis MF, Buffart LM, Skinner TL, Wardill HR. Exercise and the gut microbiome: implications for supportive care in cancer. Support Care Cancer 2023; 31:724. [PMID: 38012463 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-023-08183-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Growing recognition of the gut microbiome as an influential modulator of cancer treatment efficacy and toxicity has led to the emergence of clinical interventions targeting the microbiome to enhance cancer and health outcomes. The highly modifiable nature of microbiota to endogenous, exogenous, and environmental inputs enables interventions to promote resilience of the gut microbiome that have rapid effects on host health, or response to cancer treatment. While diet, probiotics, and faecal microbiota transplant are primary avenues of therapy focused on restoring or protecting gut function in people undergoing cancer treatment, the role of physical activity and exercise has scarcely been examined in this population. METHODS A narrative review was conducted to explore the nexus between cancer care and the gut microbiome in the context of physical activity and exercise as a widely available and clinically effective supportive care strategy used by cancer survivors. RESULTS Exercise can facilitate a more diverse gut microbiome and functional metabolome in humans; however, most physical activity and exercise studies have been conducted in healthy or athletic populations, primarily using aerobic exercise modalities. A scarcity of exercise and microbiome studies in cancer exists. CONCLUSIONS Exercise remains an attractive avenue to promote microbiome health in cancer survivors. Future research should elucidate the various influences of exercise modalities, intensities, frequencies, durations, and volumes to explore dose-response relationships between exercise and the gut microbiome among cancer survivors, as well as multifaceted approaches (such as diet and probiotics), and examine the influences of exercise on the gut microbiome and associated symptom burden prior to, during, and following cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas H Hart
- Human Performance Research Centre, INSIGHT Research Institute, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Moore Park, NSW, 2030, Australia.
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
- Cancer and Palliative Care Outcomes Centre, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
- Exercise Medicine Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.
- Institute for Health Research, University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle, WA, Australia.
| | - Matthew P Wallen
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Institute for Health and Wellbeing, Federation University, Ballarat, VIC, Australia
| | - Morgan J Farley
- Human Performance Research Centre, INSIGHT Research Institute, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Moore Park, NSW, 2030, Australia
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Darren Haywood
- Human Performance Research Centre, INSIGHT Research Institute, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Moore Park, NSW, 2030, Australia
- Mental Health Division, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Alexander N Boytar
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Kate Secombe
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ria Joseph
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Raymond J Chan
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Cancer and Palliative Care Outcomes Centre, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Marlou-Floor Kenkhuis
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Laurien M Buffart
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Tina L Skinner
- Human Performance Research Centre, INSIGHT Research Institute, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Moore Park, NSW, 2030, Australia
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Hannah R Wardill
- School of Biomedicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Supportive Oncology Research Group, Precision Cancer Medicine, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia
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