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Updated: Sep 13, 2025
In vitro Functional Characterization of Mouse Colorectal Afferent Endings
Published on: January 21, 2015
The Association of Gut Microbiota With TRPM7 Genotype, Colorectal Polyps, and Magnesium
Shan Sun1, Xiangzhu Zhu2, Xiang Huang2
1Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
Background:
We previously reported that individuals with the transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) GA/AA genotype and consumed diets high in Ca:Mg ratio had increased risk of colorectal polyps.
Objectives:
The aim was to identify whether the gut microbiota plays a role in the association of TRPM7 genotype, Ca:Mg intake ratio, and risk of colorectal polyps.
Methods:
We analyzed the gut microbiota of 240 participants in a double-blind 2 × 2 factorial (TRPM7 genotype and Ca:Mg intake ratios) randomized trial by sequencing the stool, rectal swab, and rectal mucosa tissue samples of each participant.
Results:
The gut microbiota of participants with the GA genotype significantly differed from those with the GG genotype in all 3 sample types, with an altered abundance of Prevotella and Bacteroides in swab samples. Prevotella in rectal mucosa and Bacteroides in swab were associated with an increased risk of metachronous colorectal polyps. Optimizing high-diet Ca:Mg ratios to 2.3 through Mg supplementation resulted in a reduced abundance of Prevotella in rectal swabs and Bacteroides in stool samples. We identified multiple microbes in all 3 sample types linked to risk of metachronous colorectal polyps.
Conclusions:
Our findings indicate that the gut microbiota in stool, rectal swab, and mucosa are associated with risk of metachronous colorectal polyps, and diet changes could modify the abundance of TRPM7-related microbes. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01105169 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01105169).
