Commensal Microbes That Help Prevent Metabolic Disease

Our intestines are colonized by a vast consortium of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that we now know have essential influences on gut health. Gut microbes are also instrumental for promoting the development of a mature immune system, but in turn, host immunity influences the types and functions of these commensal organisms. Research in the Round lab has recently shown that intestinal antibody responses select for specific organisms within the gut that prevent metabolic disease by limiting fat absorption within the intestine. In the absence of appropriate immunity in the gut, these protective microbes are lost, and hosts develop obesity and insulin resistance. Thus, health depends on a delicate balance between our immune system and resident gut microbes