Human oral, gut, and plaque microbiota in patients with atherosclerosis.

Periodontal disease has been associated with atherosclerosis, suggesting that bacteria from the oral cavity may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the gut microbiota may affect obesity, which is associated with atherosclerosis. Using qPCR, we show that bacterial DNA was present in the atherosclerotic plaque and that the amount of DNA correlated with the amount of leukocytes in the atherosclerotic plaque. To investigate the microbial composition of atherosclerotic plaques and test the hypothesis that the oral or gut microbiota may contribute to atherosclerosis in humans, we used 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to survey the bacterial diversity of atherosclerotic plaque, oral, and gut samples of 15 patients with atherosclerosis, and oral and gut samples of healthy controls. We identified Chryseomonas in all atherosclerotic plaque samples, and Veillonella and Streptococcus in the majority. Interestingly, the combined abundances of Veillonella and Streptococcus in atherosclerotic plaques correlated with their abundance in the oral cavity. Moreover, several additional bacterial phylotypes were common to the atherosclerotic plaque and oral or gut samples within the same individual. Interestingly, several bacterial taxa in the oral cavity and the gut correlated with plasma cholesterol levels. Taken together, our findings suggest that bacteria from the oral cavity, and perhaps even the gut, may correlate with disease markers of atherosclerosis.

The gut microbiota modulates host energy and lipid metabolism in mice.

The gut microbiota has recently been identified as an environmental factor that may promote metabolic diseases. To investigate the effect of gut microbiota on host energy and lipid metabolism, we compared the serum metabolome and the lipidomes of serum, adipose tissue, and liver of conventionally raised (CONV-R) and germ-free mice. The serum metabolome of CONV-R mice was characterized by increased levels of energy metabolites, e.g., pyruvic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid, and malic acid, while levels of cholesterol and fatty acids were reduced. We also showed that the microbiota modified a number of lipid species in the serum, adipose tissue, and liver, with its greatest effect on triglyceride and phosphatidylcholine species. Triglyceride levels were lower in serum but higher in adipose tissue and liver of CONV-R mice, consistent with increased lipid clearance. Our findings show that the gut microbiota affects both host energy and lipid metabolism and highlights its role in the development of metabolic diseases.

Nuclear variants of bone morphogenetic proteins.

BACKGROUND: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) contribute to many different aspects of development including mesoderm formation, heart development, neurogenesis, skeletal development, and axis formation. They have previously been recognized only as secreted growth factors, but the present study detected Bmp2, Bmp4, and Gdf5/CDMP1 in the nuclei of cultured cells using immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting of nuclear extracts. RESULTS: In all three proteins, a bipartite nuclear localization signal (NLS) was found to overlap the site at which the proproteins are cleaved to release the mature growth factors from the propeptides. Mutational analyses indicated that the nuclear variants of these three proteins are produced by initiating translation from downstream alternative start codons. The resulting proteins lack N-terminal signal peptides and are therefore translated in the cytoplasm rather than the endoplasmic reticulum, thus avoiding proteolytic processing in the secretory pathway. Instead, the uncleaved proteins (designated nBmp2, nBmp4, and nGdf5) containing the intact NLSs are translocated to the nucleus. Immunostaining of endogenous nBmp2 in cultured cells demonstrated that the amount of nBmp2 as well as its nuclear/cytoplasmic distribution differs between cells that are in M-phase versus other phases of the cell cycle. CONCLUSIONS: The observation that nBmp2 localization varies throughout the cell cycle, as well as the conservation of a nuclear localization mechanism among three different BMP family members, suggests that these novel nuclear variants of BMP family proteins play an important functional role in the cell.

Gut microbiota regulates bile acid metabolism by reducing the levels of tauro-beta-muricholic acid, a naturally occurring FXR antagonist.

Bile acids are synthesized from cholesterol in the liver and further metabolized by the gut microbiota into secondary bile acids. Bile acid synthesis is under negative feedback control through activation of the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in the ileum and liver. Here we profiled the bile acid composition throughout the enterohepatic system in germ-free (GF) and conventionally raised (CONV-R) mice. We confirmed a dramatic reduction in muricholic acid, but not cholic acid, levels in CONV-R mice. Rederivation of Fxr-deficient mice as GF demonstrated that the gut microbiota regulated expression of fibroblast growth factor 15 in the ileum and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) in the liver by FXR-dependent mechanisms. Importantly, we identified tauro-conjugated beta- and alpha-muricholic acids as FXR antagonists. These studies suggest that the gut microbiota not only regulates secondary bile acid metabolism but also inhibits bile acid synthesis in the liver by alleviating FXR inhibition in the ileum.

Regulation of serum amyloid A3 (SAA3) in mouse colonic epithelium and adipose tissue by the intestinal microbiota.

The gut microbiota has been proposed as an environmental factor that affects the development of metabolic and inflammatory diseases in mammals. Recent reports indicate that gut bacteria-derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can initiate obesity and insulin resistance in mice; however, the molecular interactions responsible for microbial regulation of host metabolism and mediators of inflammation have not been studied in detail. Hepatic serum amyloid A (SAA) proteins are markers and proposed mediators of inflammation that exhibit increased levels in serum of insulin-resistant mice. Adipose tissue-derived SAA3 displays monocyte chemotactic activity and may play a role in metabolic inflammation associated with obesity and insulin resistance. To investigate a potential mechanistic link between the intestinal microbiota and induction of proinflammatory host factors, we performed molecular analyses of germ-free, conventionally raised and genetically modified Myd88-/- mouse models. SAA3 expression was determined to be significantly augmented in adipose (9.9+/-1.9-fold; P<0.001) and colonic tissue (7.0+/-2.3-fold; P<0.05) by the presence of intestinal microbes. In the colon, we provided evidence that SAA3 is partially regulated through the Toll-like receptor (TLR)/MyD88/NF-kappaB signaling axis. We identified epithelial cells and macrophages as cellular sources of SAA3 in the colon and found that colonic epithelial expression of SAA3 may be part of an NF-kappaB-dependent response to LPS from gut bacteria. In vitro experiments showed that LPS treatments of both epithelial cells and macrophages induced SAA3 expression (27.1+/-2.5-fold vs. 1.6+/-0.1-fold, respectively). Our data suggest that LPS, and potentially other products of the indigenous gut microbiota, might elevate cytokine expression in tissues and thus exacerbate chronic low-grade inflammation observed in obesity.