Microbial impact on cholesterol and bile acid metabolism: current status and future prospects.

Recently, the gut microbiota has emerged as a crucial factor that influences cholesterol metabolism. Ever since, significant interest has been shown in investigating these host-microbiome interactions to uncover microbiome-mediated functions on cholesterol and bile acid (BA) metabolism. Indeed, changes in gut microbiota composition and, hence, its derived metabolites have been previously reported to subsequently impact the metabolic processes and have been linked to several diseases. In this context, associations between a disrupted gut microbiome, impaired BA metabolism, and cholesterol dysregulation have been highlighted. Extensive advances in metagenomic and metabolomic studies in this field have allowed us to further our understanding of the role of intestinal bacteria in metabolic health and disease. However, only a few have provided mechanistic insights into their impact on cholesterol metabolism. Identifying the myriad functions and interactions of these bacteria to maintain cholesterol homeostasis remain an important challenge in such a field of research. In this review, we discuss the impact of gut microbiota on cholesterol metabolism, its association with disease settings, and the potential of modulating gut microbiota as a promising therapeutic target to lower hypercholesterolemia.

Recent Patents on Hypocholesterolemic Therapeutic Strategies: An Update.

Worldwide, the cardiovascular diseases constitute a major cause of death with an ever growing incidence. Many medical approaches were developed against this physiopathology and patented; however up to now, no efficient treatment exists. Future developments are not only focusing on the identification of new therapeutic strategies against the cardiovascular diseases but also on a better understanding of the determinants of these multifactorial diseases. In this report, we reviewed the most recent patents that have been reported in this field of research.