Effects of Aronia melanocarpa on gut microbiota composition and serum metabolome in mice on high-fat diet

Overall goal of this project is to determine the inflammation lowering impact of anthocyanin-rich Aronia melanocarpa berries. Inflammation is an underlying mechanism driving the development of several diseases. Microorganisms (microbiome), host tissues, and immune cells residing in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) are a key source of pro-inflammatory signals that may cause the host organism to become inflamed. Anthocyanins are bioactive compounds with established anti-inflammatory and microbiome altering properties. We hypothesized that the GIT microbiome is a key determinant of host inflammation that can be manipulated by anthocyanin-rich berries to lower inflammation. We assembled a cohort of low inflammation and high inflammation individuals and characterize their GIT microbiome and performed anthropometric measurements, basal measures of metabolism and metabolic health, and examined lipid, metabolomic, and inflammation responses to a high-fat meal challenge. Following this clinical trial, germ-free mice were humanized with fecal microbial transplants from humans with distinct inflammation phenotypes to determine the impact of Aronia supplementation on the gut microbiome, metabolism, and inflammation.

本项目的总体目标在于确定富含花青素的黑果忍冬浆果在降低炎症方面的作用。炎症是驱动多种疾病发展的潜在机制。微生物群（微生物组）、宿主组织和驻留在胃肠道（GIT）的免疫细胞是产生促炎信号的源头，这些信号可能导致宿主生物体发生炎症。花青素是一种具有已知的抗炎和改变微生物组特性的生物活性化合物。我们假设GIT微生物群是宿主炎症的关键决定因素，而这种炎症可以通过富含花青素的浆果进行调节以降低炎症水平。我们汇集了一组低炎症和高炎症个体，对其GIT微生物群进行了特征化分析，并进行了人体测量学、基础代谢和代谢健康指标的测量，以及在高脂肪餐挑战下的脂质、代谢组和炎症反应的检查。在临床试验之后，我们对无菌小鼠进行了人化处理，通过从具有不同炎症表型的个体中移植粪便微生物，以确定黑果忍冬补充剂对肠道微生物群、代谢和炎症的影响。