High-fat diet damages intestinal flora and promotes heart disease

Recently, a study published in "Science" showed that a high-fat diet destroys the biological properties of the intestinal lining and its microbial community, and promotes the production of a metabolite that may cause heart disease
.

Mariana Byndloss, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, one of the corresponding authors of the paper, said that the discovery of animal models supports the key role of the gut and microbiota in the development of cardiovascular disease
.

Before the new coronary pneumonia, obesity and metabolic syndrome were considered pandemics in the 21st century
.

In previous studies, Dr.
Byndloss and Andreas Bumler of the University of California, Davis found that there is a mutually beneficial relationship between intestinal epithelial cells and intestinal microbes, which promotes a healthy intestinal environment
.

The collaborative research team found that in animal models, a high-fat diet can cause inflammation and damage intestinal epithelial cells
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These factors can in turn stimulate the growth of harmful Enterobacteriaceae microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli, and promote the production of a metabolite called trimethylamine by the bacteria
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Byndloss said: "It is well known that high-fat diets can cause ecological disorders, that is, an imbalance in the microbiota that favors harmful microorganisms, but we don't know why or why this happens
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Researchers proved that in animal models, a drug currently approved for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease can restore the function of intestinal epithelial cells and inhibit the increase of trimethylamine oxide
.

Byndloss said: "This shows that it is possible to prevent the negative consequences of a high-fat diet
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Byndloss believes that only by fully understanding the relationship between the host (that is, us) and gut microbes between health and disease, can therapies that effectively control obesity and obesity-related consequences (such as cardiovascular disease) be designed
.

It is reported that the Byndloss team plans to extend the research to animal models of cardiovascular disease
.
They are also exploring the role of host-microbe relationships in the development of other diseases, including colorectal cancer
.
(Source: Xin Yu, China Science News)

Related paper information: https://doi.
org/10.
1126/science.
aba3683