Insights into How Gut Microbial Metabolites Regulate Innate Immune Responses

Dear Colleagues,

The gut microbiota and their metabolites have been receiving a lot of attention in terms of their regulatory effects on the immune system in the past decade. Major microbial metabolites include the carbohydrate metabolites short-chain fatty acids, amino acid metabolites, and secondary bile acid metabolites. These metabolites function through host-receptor-dependent and independent mechanisms to regulate cells of the innate immune system, which include epithelial cells, NK cells, innate lymphoid cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, and granulocytes. Major host receptors for these microbial metabolites include G protein-coupled receptors (GPR43, GPR41, GPR109A, Olfr78 and TGR5) for fast regulatory actions in the cytoplasm and nuclear receptors (PXR, LXR, VDR, and FXR) and other receptors such as aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) for gene expression regulation in the nucleus. Recent advances indicate that these metabolites regulate innate immunity, host metabolism, inflammation, cancer, tissue repair and even regulation of adaptive immune responses.

Despite the recent advances in this area, I feel that we have only scratched the surface so far of the important functions of these metabolites in the immune system and host physiology. This special issue of Metabolites will be dedicated for publishing current advances on the functions of gut microbial metabolites in regulating the innate immune system, which encompasses not only immune cells but also barrier tissue cells.

Dr. Agnieszka M. Smolinska
Guest Editor

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