Interactions between Roseburia intestinalis and diet modulate atherogenesis in a murine model

Background: Humans with metabolic and inflammatory diseases frequently harbor lower levels of butyrate-producing bacteria in their gut. However, it is not known whether variation in the levels of these organisms is causally linked with disease development and whether diet modifies the impact of these bacteria on health. Results: We use germ-free apolipoprotein E-deficient mice colonized with synthetic microbial communities that differ in their capacity to generate butyrate to demonstrate that Roseburia intestinalis interacts with dietary components to (i) impact gene expression in the intestine, directing metabolism away from glycolysis and toward fatty acid utilization, (ii) improve intestinal barrier function, (iii) lower systemic inflammation and (iv) ameliorate atherosclerosis. Furthermore, intestinal administration of butyrate improves gut barrier function and reduces atherosclerosis development. Conclusions: Altogether, our results illustrate how modifiable diet-by-microbiota interactions impact cardiovascular disease, and suggest that interventions aimed at increasing the representation of butyrate-producing bacteria may provide protection against atherosclerosis. Intestinal mRNA profiles of gnotobiotic ApoE KO mice colonized with "core" community or "core plus Roseburia intestinalis" were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq.