1. Infection-elicited microbiota promotes host adaptation to nutrient restriction.
- Author
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Andrade-Oliveira, Vinicius, Stacy, Apollo, Pedro Tôrres Guimarães, João, Wesley Alberca-Custodio, Ricardo, Castoldi, Angela, Marques Santos, Jaqueline, Davoli-Ferreira, Marcela, Menezes-Silva, Luísa, Miguel Turato, Walter, Han, Seong-Ji, Glatman Zaretsky, Arielle, Hand, Timothy, Olsen Saraiva Câmara, Niels, Russo, Momtchilo, Jancar, Sonia, Morais da Fonseca, Denise, Belkaid, Yasmine, and de Siqueira, Mirian Krystel
- Subjects
Yersinia ,carbohydrate ,host metabolism ,malnutrition ,white adipose tissue ,Animals ,Mice ,Host Adaptation ,Microbiota ,Obesity ,Insulin Resistance ,Nutrients - Abstract
The microbiota performs multiple functions vital to host fitness, including defense against pathogens and adaptation to dietary changes. Yet, how environmental challenges shape microbiota resilience to nutrient fluctuation remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that transient gut infection can optimize host metabolism toward the usage of carbohydrates. Following acute infection and clearance of the pathogen, mice gained more weight as a result of white adipose tissue expansion. Concomitantly, previously infected mice exhibited enhanced carbohydrate (glucose) disposal and insulin sensitivity. This metabolic remodeling depended on alterations to the gut microbiota, with infection-elicited Betaproteobacteria being sufficient to enhance host carbohydrate metabolism. Further, infection-induced metabolic alteration protected mice against stunting in the context of limited nutrient availability. Together, these results propose that alterations to the microbiota imposed by acute infection may enhance host fitness and survival in the face of nutrient restriction, a phenomenon that may be adaptive in settings where both infection burden and food precarity are prevalent.
- Published
- 2023