Microbial metabolism of host-derived antioxidants

Zhe Zhou; Stavroula K Hatzios

doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102565

Microbial metabolism of host-derived antioxidants

Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2024 Dec 24:84:102565. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102565. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhe Zhou¹, Stavroula K Hatzios²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Microbial Sciences Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA.
² Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Microbial Sciences Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA; Department of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA. Electronic address: stavroula.hatzios@yale.edu.

PMID: 39721219
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.102565

Abstract

Humans are exposed to a wide variety of small molecules with antioxidant properties that are poorly metabolized by mammalian cells. However, gastrointestinal microbes encode enzymes that convert these redox-active molecules into nutrient sources and electron acceptors to support bacterial growth in the gut. Here, we describe recent studies highlighting how microbial metabolism of host-derived antioxidants modulates interspecies interactions and provide an overview of the interdisciplinary approaches being used to map these metabolic pathways in vivo. Uncovering microbe-driven biotransformations of redox-active small molecules could create new opportunities to improve human health by modulating redox reactions at the host-microbe interface.

Keywords: Antioxidants; Bacterial metabolism; Gut microbiome; Host–microbe interactions; Metabolomics.

Publication types

Review