Calcium: Magnesium Balance, Microbiota, and Necroptosis and Inflammation

In addition to microbiota-host interaction on inflammatory response, many enzymes, including three enzymes critical in gluconeogenesis and transport of amino acids and carbohydrates in energy metabolism, are dependent on the Ca/Mg ratio, indicating critical roles of the Ca/Mg ratio in carbohydrate fermentation and energy metabolism in bacteria. In pilot metagenomic study conducted by the investigators, they found all the significantly changed biologic functions within the microbial community caused by a reduction in the Ca/Mg ratio are biologically dependent on the Ca/Mg ratio or Mg. It is striking that the functions with significant changes in stool samples were centered on the fermentation of carbohydrates and energy metabolism while the functions in rectal swabs were related to immune response. Tissue also had a distinct profile from stool and swab.
These findings have very broad clinical and public health significance for many inflammation-related diseases or metabolic disorders. Due to the small sample size in the pilot study, the investigators plan to confirm these findings using the biospecimens collected in the parent study (Personalized Prevention of Colorectal Cancer Trial, NCT01105169).