Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 6, 2026
08:42
Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
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Microbial bile acid modifications: current understandings, key problems, and future perspectives
Haobo Zhang1, Jiejie Wen1, Xiang Liu1,2
1Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics and Molecular-imaging, Center of AI Biology, Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China.
Science China. Life Sciences
|October 20, 2025
Summary
The gut microbiota significantly modifies bile acids (BAs) through various pathways. Targeting the microbiota-bile acid axis offers promising therapeutic strategies for disease management.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Metabolism
- Physiology
Background:
- The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in modifying bile acids (BAs).
- Microbial BAs influence human physiology and are implicated in various diseases.
- Understanding the microbiota-BA axis is key for therapeutic interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review microbial transformations of bile acids.
- To explore the association between microbial-modified BAs and human physiology.
- To investigate therapeutic strategies targeting the microbiota-BA axis.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of microbial BA modifications.
- Analysis of microbial species and enzymes involved in BA metabolism.
- Examination of therapeutic strategies and emerging research tools.
Main Results:
- Gut microbes perform diverse BA modifications including deconjugation, 7α-dehydroxylation, and re-conjugation.
- Microbial BAs modulate physiological functions via canonical and non-canonical receptors.
- Therapeutic strategies include regulating microbial composition and inhibiting BA modifications.
Conclusions:
- The gut microbiota-BA axis is a significant modulator of human health.
- Targeting this axis holds substantial potential for novel disease management approaches.
- Emerging tools are advancing the discovery of novel BA modifications and their roles.
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