Effects of gut microbiota manipulation on ex vivo lipolysis in human abdominal subcutaneous adipocytes

ABSTRACT

The intestinal microbiota may contribute to the development of obesity by affecting host lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity. To investigate the effects of microbiota manipulation on ex vivo basal and β-adrenergically-stimulated lipolysis in human adipocytes, 36 obese men were randomized to amoxicillin (broad-spectrum antibiotic), vancomycin (narrow-spectrum antibiotic) or placebo treatment (7 d, 1500 mg/d). Before and after treatment, ex vivo adipose tissue lipolysis was assessed under basal conditions and during stimulation with the non-selective β-agonist isoprenaline using freshly isolated mature adipocytes. Gene (targeted microarray) and protein expression were analyzed to investigate underlying pathways.

Antibiotics treatment did not significantly affect basal and maximal isoprenaline-mediated glycerol release from adipocytes. Adipose tissue β-adrenoceptor expression or post-receptor signalling was also not different between groups. In conclusion, 7 d oral antibiotics treatment has no effect on ex vivo lipolysis in mature adipocytes derived from adipose tissue of obese insulin resistant men.

KEYWORDS:

• Microbiota
• Lipolysis
• Fatty acid metabolism
• Adipose Tissue
• Obesity
• Insulin resistance

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Financial disclosure

The research is funded by TI Food and Nutrition, a public-private partnership on pre-competitive research in food and nutrition. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author contributions

D.R. and J.J. wrote the manuscript; D.R., J.J., and E.C. contributed to data acquisition; J.J., G.G., J.P. and E.B. designed the study and analysed the data; E.B. had the primary responsibility for the final content. All authors revised the content of the manuscript, read and approved the manuscript for publication.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02241421.