In a prospective study of patients with type 2 diabetes, we found diets high in protein (either animal or plant) significantly reduced liver fat independently of body weight, and reduced markers of insulin resistance and hepatic necroinflammation. The diets appear to mediate these changes via lipolytic and lipogenic pathways in adipose tissue. Negative effects of BCAA or methionine were not detectable. FGF21 level appears to be a marker of metabolic improvement. ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT02402985.

BackgroundAs the gut microbiota contributes to metabolic health, it is important to determine specific diet-microbiota interactions that influence host metabolism. Bile acids and dietary fat source can alter phenotypes of diet-induced obesity, but the interplay with intestinal microorganisms is unclear. Here, we investigated metabolic consequences of diets enriched in primary bile acids with or without addition of lard or palm oil, and studied gut microbiota structure and functions in mice.ResultsIn combination with bile acids, dietary lard fed to male C57BL/6N mice for a period of 8 weeks enhanced fat mass accumulation in colonized, but not in germ-free mice when compared to palm oil. This was associated with impaired glucose tolerance, lower fasting insulin levels, lower counts of enteroendocrine cells, fatty liver, and elevated amounts of hepatic triglycerides, cholesteryl esters, and monounsaturated fatty acids. Lard- and bile acid-fed mice were characterized by shifts in dominant gut bacterial communities, including decreased relative abundances of Lachnospiraceae and increased occurrence of Desulfovibrionaceae and the species Clostridium lactatifermentans and Flintibacter butyricus. Metatranscriptomic analysis revealed shifts in microbial functions, including lipid and amino acid metabolism.ConclusionsCaution is required when interpreting data from diet-induced obesity models due to varying effects of dietary fat source. Detrimental metabolic consequences of a diet enriched with lard and primary bile acids were dependent on microbial colonization of the host and were linked to hepatic lipid rearrangements and to alterations of dominant bacterial communities in the cecum.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40168-018-0510-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Bile acids are important signaling molecules that regulate cholesterol, glucose, and energy homoeostasis and have thus been implicated in the development of metabolic disorders. Their bioavailability is strongly modulated by the gut microbiota, which contributes to generation of complex individual-specific bile acid profiles. Hence, it is important to have accurate methods at hand for precise measurement of these important metabolites. Here, a rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous identification and quantitation of primary and secondary bile acids as well as their taurine and glycine conjugates was developed and validated. Applicability of the method was demonstrated for mammalian tissues, biofluids, and cell culture media. The analytical approach mainly consists of a simple and rapid liquid-liquid extraction procedure in presence of deuterium-labeled internal standards. Baseline separation of all isobaric bile acid species was achieved and a linear correlation over a broad concentration range was observed. The method showed acceptable accuracy and precision on intra-day (1.42-11.07 %) and inter-day (2.11-12.71 %) analyses and achieved good recovery rates for representative analytes (83.7-107.1 %). As a proof of concept, the analytical method was applied to mouse tissues and biofluids, but especially to samples from in vitro fermentations with gut bacteria of the family Coriobacteriaceae. The developed method revealed that the species Eggerthella lenta and Collinsella aerofaciens possess bile salt hydrolase activity, and for the first time that the species Enterorhabdus mucosicola is able to deconjugate and dehydrogenate primary bile acids in vitro.

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PP elicits greater postprandial increases in glucagon than does CP and consequently requires higher insulin to control glucose metabolism, which appears to be related to the rate of amino acid appearance. The metabolic impact of protein quality could be used as a strategy to lower insulin needs in patients with T2D. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02402985.