The role of the gut microbiota in feline energy metabolism

肠道微生物群在猫能量代谢中的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-04518
• 负责人: Verbrugghe, Adronie
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=667724
• 关键词: role; gut; microbiota; feline; energy

With 8.5 million of cats in Canada and an estimated and continuously increasing prevalence of about 50%, 4.3 million of cats are overweight or obese. As in humans, obesity in cats can be associated with a range of complications and obesity represents a tremendous health concern for the pet population. Although the etiology and treatment of obesity may seem simple, weight-loss programs often give disappointing results. Therefore, a more in depth mechanistic approach to this disease is warranted. It is nowadays widely accepted that obesity is associated with low-grade inflammation and that inflammation contributes to obesity-related health consequences. Most studies have focussed on adipose tissue. However, the gastrointestinal tract is another potential source of inflammation associated with diet or obesity that has not been investigated in companion animals. Gut microbiota dysbiosis and gut barrier dysfunction seem to be an important factor in obesity and the onset of inflammatory and metabolic disturbances in other species. Also the obese microbiome has been shown in some species to have an increased capacity to harvest energy from the diet, and alters adipose tissue gene expression in favour of increased fat storage. Still, as cats are strict carnivores consuming a diet with a typically higher protein and fat content compared to omnivores, additional studies are required in the feline to identify the factors that link nutrition, gut microbiota and host metabolism. *The proposed research program aims to characterise the feline obese microbiome and determine the link with feline energy metabolism, providing new insights in the perturbed molecular mechanisms underlying feline obesity. It is hypothesised that gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to feline obesity by increasing extraction and absorption of dietary energy and modulating genes that promote fat storage. To test this hypothesis, following objectives will be pursued: 1) To compare the fecal microbiome, metagenome and adipose tissue function among lean and obese cats living in the same household; 2) To evaluate the effect of energy restriction and weight loss on the fecal microbiome, microbiome and adipose tissue function in feline obesity. *This Feline Metabolism Research Program will be the first to combine novel techniques such as dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) technology, metagenomics, metabolomics and transcriptomics, which have been minimally used in cats, to uncover the dynamic linkage between adiposity, energy metabolism and gut microbial ecology in domestic cats. The knowledge obtain by the proposed research program will form the foundation for future research towards the development and application of new nutritional strategies, that will make maintaining an ideal body condition much easier. The pet food industry constantly focuses on new product development and more and more preventive pet food diets become available. The new knowledge gained from this study will be implemented in redesigning existing and marketing new revolutionary weight loss and weight maintenance products for pets. The results of this research could have direct impact on pet food industry and veterinary practice in 5-10 years. This project will also provide benefits to Canada by the training of highly qualified personnel, as it will allow training of animal nutritionists and basic and biomedical scientists, suited for future careers in Canada's advanced health technology sector and nutritional research and manufacturing sector.

加拿大有 850 万只猫，估计患病率持续增加约 50%，其中 430 万只猫超重或肥胖。与人类一样，猫的肥胖可能与一系列并发症有关，而肥胖对宠物群体来说是一个巨大的健康问题。尽管肥胖的病因和治疗看似简单，但减肥计划往往会产生令人失望的结果。因此，有必要对这种疾病采取更深入的机制方法。如今，人们普遍认为肥胖与低度炎症有关，而炎症会导致与肥胖相关的健康后果。大多数研究都集中在脂肪组织上。然而，胃肠道是与饮食或肥胖相关的炎症的另一个潜在来源，尚未在伴侣动物中进行研究。肠道菌群失调和肠道屏障功能障碍似乎是其他物种肥胖以及炎症和代谢紊乱发生的重要因素。此外，在某些物种中，肥胖微生物组已显示出从饮食中获取能量的能力增强，并改变脂肪组织基因表达，有利于增加脂肪储存。尽管如此，由于猫是严格的肉食动物，与杂食动物相比，其饮食中蛋白质和脂肪含量通常较高，因此需要对猫科动物进行更多研究，以确定与营养、肠道微生物群和宿主代谢相关的因素。 *拟议的研究计划旨在描述猫科动物肥胖微生物组的特征，并确定与猫科动物能量代谢的联系，为猫科动物肥胖背后的分子机制提供新的见解。据推测，肠道微生物群失调通过增加膳食能量的提取和吸收以及调节促进脂肪储存的基因而导致猫科动物肥胖。为了检验这一假设，我们将追求以下目标：1）比较生活在同一家庭的瘦猫和肥胖猫的粪便微生物组、宏基因组和脂肪组织功能； 2）评估能量限制和减肥对猫肥胖症粪便微生物组、微生物组和脂肪组织功能的影响。 *该猫科动物代谢研究计划将首次结合双能X射线吸收测定法（DEXA）技术、宏基因组学、代谢组学和转录组学等新技术，揭示家猫肥胖、能量代谢和肠道微生物生态之间的动态联系，这些技术在猫中使用最少。通过拟议的研究计划获得的知识将为未来研究开发和应用新的营养策略奠定基础，这将使保持理想的身体状况变得更加容易。宠物食品行业不断注重新产品的开发，越来越多的预防性宠物食品出现。从这项研究中获得的新知识将应用于重新设计现有的和营销新的革命性宠物减肥和体重维持产品。这项研究的结果可能会在5-10年内对宠物食品行业和兽医实践产生直接影响。该项目还将通过培训高素质人才为加拿大带来好处，因为它将允许培训动物营养学家以及基础和生物医学科学家，适合加拿大先进卫生技术部门以及营养研究和制造部门的未来职业。