UW-Madison: From mice, clues to microbiome’s influence on metabolic disease

CONTACT: Federico Rey, (608) 890-2046, ferey@wisc.edu; Alan Attie, (608) 262-1372, adattie@wisc.edu

DOWNLOAD PHOTO: https://uwmadison.box.com/v/mice-microbiome

MADISON – The community of microorganisms that resides in the gut, known as the microbiome, has been shown to work in tandem with the genes of a host organism to regulate insulin secretion, a key variable in the onset of the metabolic disease diabetes.

That is the primary finding of a study published Feb. 14 in the journal Cell Reports by a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers Alan Attie and Federico Rey. The new report describes experiments in mice showing how genetic variation in a host animal shapes the microbiome – a rich ecosystem of mostly beneficial microorgannisms that resides in the gut – and sets the table for the onset of metabolic disease.

“We’re trying to use genetics to find out how bugs affect diabetes and metabolism,” explains Attie, a UW-Madison professor of biochemistry and a corresponding author of the study.

Peeling back the complex interplay of genes, diet and the trillions of microorganisms that live in the guts of humans and other animals, Rey, Attie and their colleagues are beginning to work out the subtleties of how host genes shape the composition of the microbiome and contribute to an animal’s phenotype and, ultimately, diet-induced metabolic disease.

Metabolic diseases such as diabetes have long been known to be influenced by both genes and diet. Understanding the role of the microbes that live in the gut and help process nutrients not only promises a fuller understanding of the link between genes, diet and disease, but may also be a pathway to pinpointing the genes responsible for conditions like diabetes.

“We’re asking whether or not there is a chain of causality between gut microbiota and (disease) phenotype,” says Attie. “Genetics is the anchor. If something is associated with a gene, it is truly a causal relationship, not just a correlation.”

To leverage that approach, the new Wisconsin study employed a cohort of eight strains of mice whose genetics collectively mirror the genetic diversity of the human population.

“These mice show tremendous phenotypic diversity,” says Attie. “Some are lean. Some are susceptible to obesity. Some are resistant to obesity. Some of these phenotypes can be partially transmitted by gut microbiota.”

READ MORE AT http://news.wisc.edu/from-mice-clues-to-microbiomes-influence-on-metabolic-disease/