Antibiotic-Mediated Modulation of the Gut Microbiome Identifies Taurine as a Modulator of Adipocyte Function Through TGR5 Signaling.

Antibiotic treatment in high-fat diet-fed rats reduced adiposity and enhanced adaptive thermogenesis.

• Rats were fed a high-fat diet and treated with antibiotics to modulate the gut microbiome.
• The antibiotic treatment model was used to investigate the contribution of microbial metabolites to lipolysis and thermogenesis.
• Reduced adiposity was observed in the antibiotic-treated animals compared to controls on the same high-fat diet.

Metabolomics analysis revealed elevated taurine levels in the cecum content and plasma of antibiotic-treated animals.

• Metabolomics was performed on cecum content and plasma samples from high-fat diet-fed rats with and without antibiotic treatment.
• Elevated taurine levels in both cecum content and plasma were identified as a key metabolic change associated with antibiotic treatment.
• The elevation of taurine correlated with increased expressions of UCP1 and TGR5 in brown adipose tissue.

Taurine enhanced lipolysis and oxygen consumption in mouse adipose tissue and human adipocytes.

• Experiments were conducted in both mouse adipose tissue and human adipocytes to assess taurine's metabolic effects.
• Taurine treatment resulted in increased lipolysis and elevated oxygen consumption rates.
• These effects were observed across both rodent and human cell/tissue models, suggesting translational relevance.

Taurine modulated lipolysis in a manner dependent on TGR5 signaling in adipose tissue.

• TGR5 is a G protein-coupled receptor known to be involved in bile acid and metabolite signaling.
• The lipolytic effect of taurine was shown to be dependent on TGR5 signaling in adipose tissue.
• Taurine possibly also acts through taurine transporter-dependent mechanisms in addition to TGR5.

Human data confirmed that taurine promotes browning of white adipocytes.

• Human adipocyte experiments were used to validate the browning effect of taurine observed in rodent models.
• Browning of white adipocytes refers to the induction of thermogenic characteristics, including upregulation of UCP1.
• These findings support the translational relevance of the gut-adipose taurine axis to human metabolism.

Acute cold exposure in humans leads to a marked drop in circulating taurine levels.

• Human subjects were studied under conditions of acute cold exposure.
• A marked drop in circulating taurine was observed following cold exposure.
• The authors interpret this as suggesting rapid recruitment of taurine into thermogenic tissues during cold-induced thermogenesis.

Taurine can be a microbiota-derived metabolite in addition to being synthesized in the liver or obtained from dietary sources.

• The study identified gut microbiota as a potential source of taurine, in addition to known hepatic synthesis and dietary uptake.
• Antibiotic-mediated modulation of the gut microbiome was associated with changes in taurine levels, implicating microbial contribution.
• This positions taurine within a gut-adipose metabolic axis with potential therapeutic relevance for metabolic disease.