Prospects for clinical applications of butyrate-producing bacteria

As the major source of energy for colonic mucosal cells and as an important regulator of gene expression,inflammation,differentiation,and apoptosis in host cells,microbiota-derived butyrate can enhance the intestinal mucosal immune barrier,modulate systemic immune response,and prevent infections.Maintaining a certain level of butyrate production in the gut can help balance intestinal microbiota,regulate host immune response,and promote the development and maintenance of the intestinal mucosal barrier.Butyrate-producing bacteria act as probiotics and play important roles in a variety of normal biological functions.Bacteriotherapeutic supplementation by using fecal microbiota transplantation to restore butyrate-producing commensal bacteria in the gut has been very successful in the treatment of recurrent and refractory Clostridium difficile(C.difficile)infection or C.difficile-negative nosocomial diarrhea.Administration of probiotics that include butyrate-producing bacteria may have a role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases and in the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis and late-onset sepsis in premature infants.Furthermore,modulating gut microbiota with dietary approaches may improve intestinal dysbiosis commonly seen in patients with obesity-associated metabolic disorders.Supplementation with a butyrate-producing bacterial stain might be used to increase energy expenditure,improve insulin sensitivity,and to help control obesity and metabolic syndrome.