/ en Wed, 04 Mar 26 11:37:06 -0500 /news/gut-bacteria-rewire-fat-tissue-burn-more-energy <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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type="image/png" width="220" height="186"> <a href="/news/centenarians-have-distinct-microbiome-may-help-support-longevity"><img loading="eager" width="220" height="186" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_sidebar_link_with_image_phone/public/news/images/2021/C.difficile-JaniceCarr-CDC-800X596-1.png?h=d3e04ee7&itok=LOIzNyqN" alt="Researchers found that a compound made by intestinal microbes in centenarians strongly inhibits the growth of Clostridium difficile (colorized), which causes severe diarrhea and gut inflammation." title="Researchers found that a compound made by intestinal microbes in centenarians strongly inhibits the growth of Clostridium difficile (colorized), which causes severe diarrhea and gut inflammation." typeof="foaf:Image"></a> </picture> </div> </article> </div> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/news/centenarians-have-distinct-microbiome-may-help-support-longevity" class="node__title"><span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:37:06 +0000 Corie Lok 5560201 at /news/scientists-discover-network-cells-and-genes-involved-crohns-disease-complication-0 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:00:10 +0000 adicorat 5558796 at /news/scientists-find-region-mouse-gut-tightly-regulated-immune-system <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 20 Nov 2024 16:00:00 +0000 adicorat 5557901 at /news/researchers-identify-gut-microbiome-signatures-linked-precancerous-colon-polyps <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:59:00 +0000 tulrich@broadinstitute.org 1282366 at /news/broad-discovery-center-cambridge-opens-public-october <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Mon, 19 Sep 2022 14:53:09 +0000 kzusi@broadinstitute.org 1195701 at /news/untangling-immune-response-vaccines <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Thu, 02 Dec 2021 17:13:02 +0000 adicorat 1126841 at /news/single-cell-atlas-nerve-cells-gut-reveals-web-connections <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Thu, 03 Sep 2020 15:49:58 +0000 kzusi@broadinstitute.org 647586 at /news/cholesterol-busting-gut-bacteria-may-affect-people%E2%80%99s-cardiac-health <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Mon, 15 Jun 2020 15:42:13 +0000 Corie Lok 630531 at /news/how-immune-system-puts-brakes-allergic-inflammation <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Fri, 22 Nov 2019 15:00:00 +0000 kzusi@broadinstitute.org 625251 at /blog/how-improve-therapies-inflammatory-bowel-disease <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <span>By Corie Lok</span> </span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> <div class="hero-section container"> <div class="hero-section__row row"> <div class="hero-section__content hero-section__content_left col-6"> <div class="hero-section__breadcrumbs"> <div class="block block-system block-system-breadcrumb-block"> <nav class="breadcrumb" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="system-breadcrumb"> <h2 id="system-breadcrumb" class="visually-hidden">Breadcrumb</h2> <ol> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> </ol> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__title"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storytitle"> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"><h1>Gut bacteria rewire fat tissue to burn more energy</h1> </span> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__description"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storybody"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Study reveals how the gut microbiome and diet work together to transform white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat in mice.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__author"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-extra-field-blocknodelong-storyextra-field-author-custom"> By Sarah C.P. Williams </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__date"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storycreated"> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2026-03-04T11:37:06-05:00" title="Wednesday, March 4, 2026 - 11:37" class="datetime">March 4, 2026</time> </span> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hero-section__right col-6"> <div class="hero-section__image"> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <article class="media media--type-image media--view-mode-multiple-content-types-header"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <picture role="img" aria-label="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye"> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1921px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop_xl/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=9OMSCu2K 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1601px) and (max-width: 1920px)" type="image/jpeg" width="754" height="503"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_desktop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=BgL0bYzn 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1340px) and (max-width: 1600px)" type="image/jpeg" width="736" height="520"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_laptop/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=ZCArlOZa 1x" media="all and (min-width: 800px) and (max-width: 1339px)" type="image/jpeg" width="641" height="451"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_tablet/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=eEJ7Amlw 1x" media="all and (min-width: 540px) and (max-width: 799px)" type="image/jpeg" width="706" height="417"/> <source srcset="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db 1x" media="all and (max-width: 539px)" type="image/jpeg" width="499" height="294"/> <img loading="eager" width="499" height="294" src="/files/styles/multiple_ct_header_phone/public/longstory/220906_052%20web.jpg?h=6eb229a4&itok=K3iKP6Db" alt="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" title="Microscopy image showing fat cells stained with a purple dye" typeof="foaf:Image" /> </picture> </div> <div class="media-caption"> <div class="media-caption__description"> Fat tissue (seen under a microscope) from treated mice in the new study consists mostly of energy-burning beige fat cells. Source: Tanoue, T. et al. Nature. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3 </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block block-better-social-sharing-buttons block-social-sharing-buttons-block"> <div style="display: none"><link rel="preload" href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg" as="image" type="image/svg+xml" crossorigin="anonymous" /></div> <div class="social-sharing-buttons"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed&title=" target="_blank" title="Share to Facebook" aria-label="Share to Facebook" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-facebook" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#facebook" /> </svg> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=+/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" target="_blank" title="Share to X" aria-label="Share to X" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-x" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#x" /> </svg> </a> <a href="mailto:?subject=&body=/taxonomy/term/1526/feed" title="Share to Email" aria-label="Share to Email" class="social-sharing-buttons-button share-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <svg aria-hidden="true" width="32px" height="32px" style="border-radius:100%;"> <use href="/modules/contrib/better_social_sharing_buttons/assets/dist/sprites/social-icons--no-color.svg#email" /> </svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-content-paragraphs"> <div class="field field--name-field-content-paragraphs field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-narrow paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><div class="clearfix" style="background-color:#f3f3f3;font-family:Open Sans;margin-bottom:2em;padding:2em;"> <h3>Highlights</h3> <ul> <li aria-level="1">Scientists have found four bacterial strains that play a role in converting white fat cells into beige fat in mice. Beige fat burns calories whereas white fat stores it.</li> <li aria-level="1">Mice that received the four strains along with a low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</li> <li aria-level="1">Targeting the biological pathways that the bacteria are modulating in the body could be a therapeutic strategy for obesity and metabolic disease.</li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--text-with-sidebar text-with-sidebar"> <div class="field field--name-field-sidebar field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--sidebar-articles sidebar-articles"> <div class="sidebar-articles__col"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Related News</p> </div> <div class="field 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field--label-hidden">Centenarians have a distinct microbiome that may help support longevity</span> </a> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Most adult body fat consists of white fat cells that store excess calories, but babies are born with stores of brown and beige fat that burn energy to generate heat. Brown fat levels decrease with age, but scientists have long sought to change that, looking for ways to convert white fat cells into calorie-consuming beige fat with the goal of treating obesity and metabolic disease such as diabetes.</p> <p>Now, researchers at Keio University in Japan, the ӳ����ý, and City of Hope have discovered that a low-protein diet paired with just the right mix of gut bacteria can lead to this transformation in mice. Their new study in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3"><em>Nature </em></a>shows how four strains of bacteria, when they sense low protein in the mouse gut, produce molecular signals that trigger white fat cells to become more beige by taking on brown fat characteristics.</p> <p>“This work underscores how our gut microbiome is actively interpreting what we eat and translating it into signals the body responds to,” said study co-senior author <a href="/node/4721/">Ramnik Xavier</a>, a ӳ����ý core institute member, the Kurt J. Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and core member in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital.</p> <p>The scientists caution that the findings shouldn’t be directly applied in humans. The diet they studied is lower in protein than is advised for people, and previous attempts to simply give people specific bacterial strains as probiotics have largely failed. Instead, the team says a better understanding of how these bacteria work could one day allow researchers to develop medicines that mimic their effects.</p> <p>“In the future, we potentially could modulate brown fat through drugs that directly impact these same molecular pathways that the microbiota are activating,” said Kenya Honda, co-senior author, professor at Keio University School of Medicine, and a visiting scholar at City of Hope, a US cancer research and treatment organization.</p> <h2> <br>Bug hunt</h2> <p>The research began when Honda’s team noticed that mice consuming just a 7 percent protein diet showed increases in beige fat levels, but this diet didn’t have any effect on fat in mice with no gut bacteria.</p> <p>“This suggested to us that there was something key in the gut microbiome that was responsible for converting white fat to beige fat in these low-protein conditions,” said co-first author Takeshi Tanoue of Keio University and City of Hope.</p> <p>To identify which bacteria might be involved, the researchers recruited 25 healthy adults and scanned them for active beige fat; only four people had detectable levels (Honda tested himself and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t one of those four.).</p> <p>The team isolated gut bacteria from the four volunteers with beige fat and transplanted the microbes into germ-free mice that were fed the low-protein diet. Animals that received bacteria from two of the four individuals began to convert white fat into beige fat. By removing one strain at a time from these mice, the researchers pinpointed four bacterial strains that were essential for this conversion and shared between the two human donors: <em>Adlercreutzia equolifaciens</em>, a <em>Eubacteriaceae </em>species, <em>Bilophila </em>sp., and <em>Romboutsia timonensis</em>.</p> <p>Mice that received the four strains along with the low-protein diet had increased beige fat, better glucose tolerance, reduced weight gain, and lower cholesterol levels.</p> <h2><br>Linking bacteria to brown fat</h2> <p>In collaboration with Xavier’s team at the ӳ����ý, the researchers homed in on the molecules produced by each of the four strains of bacteria. The bacteria, they found, produce signals that alter the gut’s bile acids in low-protein conditions. These altered bile acids travel through the bloodstream to fat tissue, where they activate stem cells to become beige fat.</p> <p>At the same time, two of the bacteria begin to make ammonia when they sense a shortage of protein. This ammonia travels to the liver, triggering production of the hormone FGF21, which increases nerve connections to fat tissue.</p> <p>When the research teams blocked either the modified bile acids or the hormone, mice no longer produced brown fat when they ate a low-protein diet, demonstrating that both pathways are essential.</p> <p>“What these findings tell us is that the microbiome is incredibly important in fine-tuning things like how our body stores fat,” said Xavier. “This opens up an opportunity to think about the interactions between microbes, metabolites, and metabolic disease, understand the mechanisms, and potentially translate that into interventions for metabolic health.”</p> <p>The Keio University researchers are now working to understand how bacteria sense low-protein conditions in the first place, and whether drugs targeting bile acid modifications or the FGF21 hormone could influence beige fat levels in humans.</p> <p>The other co-first authors of the study are Manabu Nagayama and Ayumi Roochana of Keio University, and Samuel Zimmerman of the ӳ����ý.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="field field--name-field-paragraph field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Funding</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Support for the study was provided by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Stand Up to Cancer, the Wellcome Trust and Temasek Trust, the Mitsukoshi Health and Welfare Foundation, Chugai Foundation for Innovative Drug Discovery Science, Keio University, the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program at the ӳ����ý, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="field__item"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--table-outro-row paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-heading field--type-text field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Paper cited:</p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tanoue, T. et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10205-3">Microbiota-mediated induction of beige adipocytes in response to dietary cues</a>. <em>Nature</em>. Online March 4, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10205-3</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content-section container"> <div class="content-section__main"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags block block-layout-builder block-field-blocknodelong-storyfield-broad-tags"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__row"> <div class="block-node-broad-tags__title">Tags:</div> <div class="field field--name-field-broad-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/infectious-disease-and-microbiome-0" hreflang="en">Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/xavier-lab" hreflang="en">Xavier Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/metabolic-disease" hreflang="en">Metabolic Disease</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/microbiome" hreflang="en">Microbiome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/broad-tags/obesity" hreflang="en">Obesity</a></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> Mon, 07 Oct 2019 18:02:56 +0000 Karen Blum 622506 at