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Updated: Feb 22, 2026
07:49
Intracerebroventricular Delivery of Gut-Derived Microbial Metabolites in Freely Moving Mice
Published on: June 2, 2022
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Microbial metabolites: messengers in the gut-X axis
Min Fu1, Yusha Zhao1, Dingjiacheng Jia2
1Department of Gastroenterology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, China; Institution of Gastroenterology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province 310058, China.
Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism: TEM
|February 20, 2026
Summary
Ectopic Catenibacterium mitsuokai bacteria secrete quinolinic acid, activating a key signaling pathway to drive liver cancer. This discovery highlights the crucial link between microbial metabolites and host organ diseases.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Oncology
- Metabolomics
Background:
- Microbial metabolites significantly influence host organ physiology and pathology.
- The interplay between gut microbiota and liver diseases is an emerging area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ectopic Catenibacterium mitsuokai in driving hepatocellular carcinoma.
- To identify the specific microbial metabolite responsible for initiating liver cancer progression.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of microbial communities in host tissues.
- Identification and quantification of secreted bacterial metabolites.
- In vitro and in vivo experiments to elucidate signaling pathway activation.
Main Results:
- Catenibacterium mitsuokai was found ectopically in host tissues.
- The bacterium secretes quinolinic acid.
- Quinolinic acid activates the TIE2/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
- Pathway activation promotes hepatocellular carcinoma development.
Conclusions:
- Ectopic Catenibacterium mitsuokai drives liver cancer through quinolinic acid secretion.
- The TIE2/PI3K/AKT pathway is a critical mediator in this process.
- These findings establish a novel microbial metabolite-target organ axis in cancer.
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