Endocrine Abstracts

The global prevalence of obesity is increasing and there is growing evidence of a link between the gut microbiota and obesity. However, the specific bacterial strains and mechanisms involved in the development and treatment of obesity are not fully understood. We are investigating how probiotics modulate the gut microbiota to improve metabolic health in animal models of obesity and how dietary interventions remodel the gut microbiota to support weight loss in children with obesity. To investigate the role of the gut microbiota in obesity, we analyzed its composition using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing in obese and obesity-resistant mice, while therapeutic effect of probiotics were examined in obese mice. We also examined the changes in the gut microbiota of children with obesity before and after a hypocaloric diet. In obesity-resistant mice, increased Lactobacillus abundance was negatively correlated with blood triglycerides, which, together with decreased expression of hepatic and intestinal free fatty acid transporters, suggests a role for the gut microbiota in preventing ectopic lipid accumulation. We have also shown that oral administration of a specific Lactobacillus strain to obese mice normalizes their gut microbiota, reduces hepatic steatosis and improves gut barrier integrity (patent pending), suggesting the gut microbiota as a potential therapeutic target. In children with obesity, a linear regression model showed that higher abundance of Blautia and Anaerostipes correlated with greater weight loss, while higher abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae UCG-003 and Faecalibacterium was negatively correlated with weight loss efficacy. Based on the above findings and our previous research on glucocorticoids as important mediators in obesity, whose availability and metabolism may be regulated by the activity of the gut microbiota, our future research aims to identify glucocorticoid-metabolizing gut bacteria and elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which they influence gut permeability and adipose tissue metabolism, thus contributing to the alleviation of obesity.