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Gut microbiota mediates the anti-obesity effect of calorie restriction in mice.

ABSTRACT: Calorie restriction (CR) extends lifespan and elicits numerous effects beneficial to health and metabolism in various model organisms, but the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. Gut microbiota has been reported to be associated with the beneficial effects of CR; however, it is unknown whether these effects of CR are causally mediated by gut microbiota. In this study, we employed an antibiotic-induced microbiota-depleted mouse model to investigate the functional role of gut microbiota in CR. Depletion of gut microbiota rendered mice resistant to CR-induced loss of body weight, accompanied by the increase in fat mass, the reduction in lean mass and the decline in metabolic rate. Depletion of gut microbiota led to increases in fasting blood glucose and cholesterol levels independent of CR. A few metabolism-modulating hormones including leptin and insulin were altered by CR and/or gut microbiota depletion. In addition, CR altered the composition of gut microbiota with significant increases in major probiotic genera such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, together with the decrease of Helicobacter. In addition, we performed fecal microbiota transplantation in mice fed with high-fat diet. Mice with transferred microbiota from calorie-restricted mice resisted high fat diet-induced obesity and exhibited metabolic improvement such as alleviated hepatic lipid accumulation. Collectively, these data indicate that CR-induced metabolic improvement especially in body weight reduction is mediated by intestinal microbiota to a certain extent.

SUBMITTER: Wang S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6115465 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Calorie restriction (CR) is accompanied by self-imposed daily restriction of food intake and an extended fasting period between meals. The impact of restricting feeding to the dark or light phase on the effects of CR remains elusive. Here, light-fed CR mice showed physiological changes, such as muscle loss, concomitant with changes in the gut microbiota structure and composition. After switching to ad libitum access to food, light-fed mice had a period of food-craving behavior and short-lived physiological changes, while dark-fed mice displayed lasting changes in fat accumulation, glucose metabolism, intestinal barrier function, and systemic inflammatory markers. Moreover, the gut microbiota was modulated by when the food was consumed, and the most abundant Lactobacillus operational taxonomic unit (OTU) promoted by CR was enhanced in dark-fed mice. After switching to ad libitum feeding, the gut microbiota of dark-fed mice returned to the state resembling that of mice fed normal chow ad libitum, but that of light-fed mice was still significantly different from the other two groups. Together, these data indicate that for CR, restricting food consumption to the active phase brought better metabolic phenotype associated with potentially beneficial structural shifts in the gut microbiota.IMPORTANCE Aberrant feeding patterns whereby people eat more frequently throughout the day and with a bias toward late-night eating are prevalent in society today. However, whether restriction of food to daytime in comparison to nighttime, coupled with restricted calorie intake, can influence gut microbiota, metabolism, and overall health requires further investigation. We surveyed the effects of the shift in feeding time on gut microbiota and metabolic phenotype in calorie-restricted mice and found that avoiding eating during the rest period may generate more beneficial effects in mice. This work strengthens the evidence for using "when to eat" as an intervention to improve health during calorie restriction.

Project description:BackgroundGrowing evidence supports the role of gut microbiota in obesity and its related disorders including type 2 diabetes. Ob/ob mice, which are hyperphagic due to leptin deficiency, are commonly used models of obesity and were instrumental in suggesting links between gut microbiota and obesity. Specific changes in their gut microbiota such as decreased microbial diversity and increased Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio have been suggested to contribute to obesity via increased microbiota capacity to harvest energy. However, the differential development of ob/ob mouse gut microbiota compared to wild type microbiota and the role of hyperphagia in their metabolic impairment have not been investigated thoroughly.ResultsWe performed a 10-week long study in ob/ob (n = 12) and wild type control (n = 12) mice fed ad libitum. To differentiate effects of leptin deficiency from hyperphagia, we pair-fed an additional group of ob/ob mice (n = 11) based on the food consumption of control mice. Compared to control mice, ob/ob mice fed ad libitum exhibited compromised glucose metabolism and increased body fat percentage. Pair-fed ob/ob mice exhibited even more compromised glucose metabolism and maintained strikingly similar high body fat percentage at the cost of lean body mass. Acclimatization of the microbiota to our facility took up to 5 weeks. Leptin deficiency impacted gut microbial composition, explaining 18.3% of the variance. Pair-feeding also altered several taxa, although the overall community composition at the end of the study was not significantly different. We found 24 microbial taxa associations with leptin deficiency, notably enrichment of members of Lactobacillus and depletion of Akkermansia muciniphila. Microbial metabolic functions related to energy harvest, including glycan degradation, phosphotransferase systems and ABC transporters, were enriched in the ob/ob mice. Taxa previously reported as relevant for obesity were associated with body weight, including Oscillibacter and Alistipes (both negatively correlated) and Prevotella (positively correlated).ConclusionsLeptin deficiency caused major changes in the mouse gut microbiota composition. Several microbial taxa were associated with body composition. Pair-fed mice maintained a pre-set high proportion of body fat despite reduced calorie intake, and exhibited more compromised glucose metabolism, with major implications for treatment options for genetically obese individuals.

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Gut microbiota mediates the anti-obesity effect of calorie restriction in mice.

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