Dietary fibers inhibit obesity in mice, but host responses in the cecum and liver appear unrelated to fiber-specific changes in cecal taxonomic composition

Drew, J. E. et al. (2018) Dietary fibers inhibit obesity in mice, but host responses in the cecum and liver appear unrelated to fiber-specific changes in cecal taxonomic composition. Scientific Reports, 8, 15566. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34081-8) (PMID:30349136) (PMCID:PMC6197265)

Abstract

Dietary fibers (DF) can prevent obesity in rodents fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Their mode of action is not fully elucidated, but the gut microbiota have been implicated. This study aimed to identify the effects of seven dietary fibers (barley beta-glucan, apple pectin, inulin, inulin acetate ester, inulin propionate ester, inulin butyrate ester or a combination of inulin propionate ester and inulin butyrate ester) effective in preventing diet-induced obesity and links to differences in cecal bacteria and host gene expression. Mice (n = 12) were fed either a low-fat diet (LFD), HFD or a HFD supplemented with the DFs, barley beta-glucan, apple pectin, inulin, inulin acetate ester, inulin propionate ester, inulin butyrate ester or a combination of inulin propionate ester and inulin butyrate ester for 8 weeks. Cecal bacteria were determined by Illumina MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. Host responses, body composition, metabolic markers and gene transcription (cecum and liver) were assessed post intervention. HFD mice showed increased adiposity, while all of the DFs prevented weight gain. DF specific differences in cecal bacteria were observed. Results indicate that diverse DFs prevent weight gain on a HFD, despite giving rise to different cecal bacteria profiles. Conversely, common host responses to dietary fiber observed are predicted to be important in improving barrier function and genome stability in the gut, maintaining energy homeostasis and reducing HFD induced inflammatory responses in the liver.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Milligan, Professor Graeme and Preston, Professor Tom and Reichardt, Ms Nicole and Morrison, Professor Douglas
• Authors: Drew, J. E., Reichardt, N., Williams, L. M., Mayer, C.-D., Walker, A. W., Farquharson, A. J., Kastora, S., Farquharson, F., Milligan, G., Morrison, D. J., Preston, T., Flint, H. J., and Louis, P.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Molecular Biosciences; College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 8: 15566
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
56222	2	RERAD Food and Drink Strategic Partnership	Graeme Milligan	Scottish Government (SCOTTISH G)	N/A	RI MOLECULAR CELL & SYSTEMS BIOLOGY