Research reveals how gut microbes alter drugs

many oral medications can be altered by human gut microbes, which can affect the patient's treatment. Past studies have hinted at the effects of the gut microbiome on differences in drug response, but the mechanism behind it has been unclear. In a paper published online in Nature recently, a bacterial enzyme that alters drug activity has identified a causal link between the two that could help in the future to select appropriate treatments for a variety of diseases.
there are significant differences in individual responses to oral medications. The gut microbiome contains 150 times more genes than the human genome, producing a large number of enzymes that are likely to metabolize drugs. This interoperability may activate the drug, may also inactivate the drug, and in some cases may also produce toxic compounds.
to systematically study the interaction between gut microbes and drugs, Andrew Goodman of Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut and colleagues looked at the ability of 76 human gut bacteria to metabolize 271 oral drugs. They found that about two-thirds (176) of the drugs were metabolized by at least one strain that directly affected the intestinal and systemic drug metabolism of mice.
researchers have found that the species identity of bacteria does not always reliably predict a species or community, altering or metabolizeing the drug's ability, but microbial enzymes that directly alter the drug often better explain these activities. The authors say the findings may help develop new therapies that use the individual microbiome to change drug metabolism in a beneficial way
(Source: Lu Yi, China Science Journal)
Related Papers: