Dataset Information

Effects of Milkfat on the Gut Microbiome of Patients After Bariatric Surgery, a Pilot Study

ABSTRACT:

Background

The efficacy of bariatric surgery may be in part attributed to altered metabolism via new gut microbiome. Milkfat may promote the growth of microbes that are beneficial in long-term weight loss. Understanding the specific gut microbiome changes after surgery and their relationship to milkfat consumption may yield important strategies for managing obesity after bariatric procedures.

Methods

In this pilot study, stool samples were collected from nine patients before and at the time of surgery, and at 1, 3, and 6 months post-surgery. At each time-point, dairy consumption was determined from dietary surveys. 16 s rRNA gene sequencing was performed followed by alpha diversity analysis. Comparisons of relative abundances of microbial taxa and analyses of fatty acids changes were performed.

Results

Bariatric surgery led to enrichment of (i) Roseburia, associated with weight loss and (ii) Christensenellaceae, inversely related to body mass index. High milk-fat consumption correlated with enrichment of Blautia, inversely associated with visceral fat accumulation. Faecalibacterium, possibly associated with obesity, increased in patients with low milk-fat consumption. Butter was associated with decreased alpha diversity in all subjects (p-value = 0.038) and the frequency of its use was associated with decreased alpha diversity in patients (correlation = − 0.68, p-value = 0.042). Low-milk-fat consumers showed higher concentration of saturated fatty acids.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that incorporating dairy products in post-bariatric-surgery dietary plans may help cultivate a gut microbiome that is effective in regulating fat storage as well as digesting beneficial metabolites. These observations will be helpful for the management of obesity in general population as well.

Graphical abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11695-021-05805-z.

SUBMITTER: O’Neill L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8603342 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Bariatric surgery is often the preferred method to resolve obesity and diabetes, with ∼800,000 cases worldwide yearly and high outcome variability. The ability to predict the long-term body mass index (BMI) change following surgery has important implications for individuals and the health care system in general. Given the tight connection between eating habits, sugar consumption, BMI, and the gut microbiome, we tested whether the microbiome before any treatment is associated with different treatment outcomes, as well as other intakes (high-density lipoproteins [HDL], triglycerides, etc.). A projection of the gut microbiome composition of obese (sampled before and after bariatric surgery) and lean patients into principal components was performed, and the relation between this projection and surgery outcome was studied. The projection revealed three different microbiome profiles belonging to lean, obese, and obese individuals who underwent bariatric surgery, with the postsurgery microbiome more different from the lean microbiome than the obese microbiome. The same projection allowed for a prediction of BMI loss following bariatric surgery, using only the presurgery microbiome. The microbial changes following surgery were an increase in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria and a decrease in Firmicutes. The gut microbiome can be decomposed into main components depicting the patient's development and predicting in advance the outcome. Those may be translated into the better clinical management of obese individuals planning to undergo metabolic surgery. IMPORTANCE BMI and diabetes can affect the gut microbiome composition. Bariatric surgery has large variabilities in the outcome. The microbiome was previously shown to be a good predictor for multiple diseases. We analyzed here the gut microbiome before and after bariatric surgery and showed the following. (i) The microbiome before surgery can be used to predict surgery outcomes. (ii) The postsurgery microbiome drifts further away from the lean microbiome than the microbiome of the presurgery obese patients. These results can lead to a microbiome-based presurgery decision whether to perform surgery.