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Comment
. 2014 Aug 13;16(2):143-145.
doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2014.07.011.

Microbial-derived butyrate: an oncometabolite or tumor-suppressive metabolite?

Scott J Bultman  1 , Christian Jobin  2
Affiliations
Comment

Microbial-derived butyrate: an oncometabolite or tumor-suppressive metabolite?

Scott J Bultman et al. Cell Host Microbe. .

Abstract

Dietary factors, microbial composition, and metabolism are intimately intertwined into a complex network whose activities influence important intestinal functions. In a recent issue of Cell, Belcheva et al. (2014) show that microbial-derived butyrate promotes proliferation of cancer-initiated intestinal epithelial cells, suggesting that it can act as an oncometabolite.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Microbiota-derived metabolism of carbohydrates promotes polyp frequency in the intestine: Butyrate producing bacteria such as Clostridiaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae biotransform carbohydrates into butyrate, which in the context of cancer-initiated colonocytes such as observed in the epithelium of ApcMin/+;Msh2−/− mice, foster cellular proliferation and polyp formation. The microbiota of ApcMin/+;Msh2−/− mice exposed to low carbohydrate diet or antibiotics is impaired in its metabolic capacitiy and butyrate formation, thereby preventing cancer-initiated colonocyte proliferation and cancer progression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Gut microbial metabolism drives transformation of MSH2-deficient colon epithelial cells.
    Belcheva A, Irrazabal T, Robertson SJ, Streutker C, Maughan H, Rubino S, Moriyama EH, Copeland JK, Surendra A, Kumar S, Green B, Geddes K, Pezo RC, Navarre WW, Milosevic M, Wilson BC, Girardin SE, Wolever TMS, Edelmann W, Guttman DS, Philpott DJ, Martin A. Belcheva A, et al. Cell. 2014 Jul 17;158(2):288-299. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2014.04.051. Cell. 2014. PMID: 25036629

References

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    1. Belcheva A, Irrazabal T, Robertson SJ, Streutker C, Maughan H, Rubino S, Moriyama EH, Copeland JK, Kumar S, Green B, et al. Gut microbial metabolism drives transformation of msh2-deficient colon epithelial cells. Cell. 2014;158:288–299. - PubMed
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