Research on regulating gut bacteria to have the same effect on brown adipose tissue as exercise

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K19708
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 59:Sports sciences, physical education, health sciences, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: Hirata Ken-ichi 神戸大学, 医学研究科, 教授 (20283880)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 山下 智也 神戸大学, 科学技術イノベーション研究科, 教授 (90437468)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 腸内細菌 / 運動 / プロバイオティクス / アミノ酸代謝 / 分枝鎖アミノ酸 / Bacteroides菌

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study is to search for gut bacteria with the same effect as exercise and to verify the possibility of treating obesity. In order to identify gut bacteria that increase with "exercise", obese model mice were subjected to treadmill exercise, but those exercise did not affect obesity, and it was not possible to identify the exercise-mimicking bacteria. Oral administration of Bacteroides species to fat diet loading obese model mice suppressed obesity, improved branched-chain amino acid metabolism in brown fat cells, and demonstrated the possibility of reproducing thermogenesis that occurs with exercise.
By investigating the relationship between thinness/obesity and gut microbiota in humans, we found some novel evidence of gut flora type in association with thin elder person.

Free Research Field

循環器内科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

運動が褐色脂肪細胞のアミノ酸利用とそれに引き続く熱産生能に与える影響を解明した。新規の菌の発見はできなかったが、その効果を持つ腸内細菌（プロバイオティクス）を特定しており、肥満症治療への応用を目指した研究基盤になると考えている。腸内細菌制御により肥満予防の可能性を示したことになり、近い将来に「腸からの新たな肥満管理法・治療法」での変革をもたらす事が期待できる。