Association between gut microbiota and bone health

What is it about?

Gut microbiota is important to bone metabolism.We review the various potential mechanisms of gut microbiota on the regulation of bone metabolism. Further, we outline some useful tools/approaches for metagenomics research and present some prominent examples of metagenomics association studies in humans.

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Why is it important?

Osteoporosis is the most common complex metabolic bone disease, representing a serious public health problem among elderly individuals. Although previous studies have been successful in identifying many epidemiological and genetic determinants of osteoporosis, the etiology and underlying biological mechanisms of osteoporosis are far from fully understood. While research efforts have been conducted using many different types of experimental models (in vitro and in vivo), thus far little attention has been devoted to the potential effect of the gut microbiota on the development of osteoporosis. Recently there have been many novel discoveries indicating that the gut microbiome is closely related to human health as the gut flora have been shown to be associated with a number of complex diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and colorectal cancer. Taken together, these findings suggest that the gut microbiota may explain a substantial proportion of disease risk for many complex traits. Additionally, using mouse models, it has been shown that the gut microbiome may play an important role in the regulation of bone metabolism. Here, we attempt to comprehensively summarize the relationship between gut microbiota and osteoporosis by exploring the biological effects of the microbiome on the gut-brain axis, nutrient production and absorption, immune system functionality, excretion of functional products, and the intestinal mucosal barrier.

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