Dietary fat disturbance of of gut microbial diurnal patterns uncouples host metabolic networks.

Diet-induced obesity (DIO) is rapidly becoming a global health problem, particularly as Westernization of emerging nations continues. Currently, one third of adult Americans are considered obese and, if current trends continue, >90% of US citizens are predicted to be affected by 2050. However, efforts to fight this epidemic have not yet produced sound solutions for prevention or treatment. Our studies reveal a balanced and chronobiological relationship between food consumption, daily variation in gut microbial evenness and function, basomedial hypothalamic circadian clock (CC) gene expression, and key hepatic metabolic regulatory networks , including CC and nuclear receptors (NR), that is are essential for metabolic homeostasis. “Western” diets high in saturated fats dramatically alter diurnal variation in microbial composition and function, which in turn lead to uncoupling of the hepatic CC and NR networks from central CC control in ways that offset the timing and types of regulatory factors directing metabolic function. These signals include microbial metabolites such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) that can directly regulate or disrupt metabolic networks of the hepatocyte. Our study therefore provides insights into the complex and dynamic relationships between diet, gut microbes, and the host that are critical for maintenance of health. Perturbations of this constellation of processes, in this case by diet-induced dysbiosis and its metabolomic signaling, can potentially promote metabolic imbalances and disease. This knowledge opens up many possibilities for novel therapeutic and interventional strategies to treat and prevent DIO, ranging from the manipulation of gut microbial function to pharmacological targeting of host pathways to restore metabolic balance.