Natural Compound Coupled with Specific Gut Microbes May Prevent Severe Flu

저자：   업로드：2017-08-08  조회수：

    Microbes that live in the gut don’t just digest food. They also have far-reaching effects on the immune system. Now, a new study shows that a particular gut microbe can prevent severe flu infections in mice, likely by breaking down naturally occurring compounds, called flavonoids, commonly found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries.

    A flavonoid-microbe connection was recently uncovered by scientists based at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. These scientists, led by Thaddeus S. Stappenbeck, M.D., Ph.D., found this connection in mice, which suffer more severe influenza when they receive antibiotics. It has been suggested that antibiotics may worsen influenza in mice by eliminating microbes that produce helpful bioactive metabolites.

    The scientists discovered that gut bacteria may metabolize flavonoids to generate a compound called desaminotyrosine (DAT), which triggers interferon (IFN) signaling to boost the immune response. A detailed account of this DAT-mediated immune effect appeared August 4 in the journal Science, in an article entitled “The Microbial Metabolite Desaminotyrosine Protects from Influenza through Type I Interferon.”

    “...a microbially associated metabolite, desaminotyrosine (DAT), protects from influenza through augmentation of type I IFN signaling and diminution of lung immunopathology,” wrote the article’s authors. “A specific human-associated gut microbe, Clostridium orbiscindens, produced DAT and rescued antibiotic-treated influenza-infected mice.”

    This research indicates that the flavonoid–microbe interaction could help stave off severe damage from flu when the interaction occurs prior to infection with the influenza virus. The research might also help explain the wide variation in human responses to influenza infection.

    "For years, flavonoids have been thought to have protective properties that help regulate the immune system to fight infections," said the study’s first author, Ashley L. Steed, M.D., Ph.D.. "Flavonoids are common in our diets, so an important implication of our study is that it's possible flavonoids work with gut microbes to protect us from flu and other viral infections. Obviously, we need to learn more, but our results are intriguing."

    As part of the study, the researchers screened human gut microbes for their ability to metabolize flavonoids. "We were able to identify at least one type of bacteria that use

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