Functional activity of the gut microbiota, adipose tissue, and incretins in childhood obesity

Obesity is a multifactorial disease. The action of the gut microbiota on human metabolic health is currently being actively studied. The literature describes many mechanisms of this action, the main mechanism is the synthesis of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) that are ligands of GPR41 and GPR43 receptors for the synthesis of many hormones (insulin, glucagon, leptin, and irisin). Objective: to study the metabolic activity of the colonic microbiota and its relationship to the secretion of adipose tissue hormones, incretins in obese and overweight children. The investigation involved 74 children and adolescents with overweight and obesity, as well as 44 healthy children matched for age and sex. Over the course of the investigation, data were obtained on a decrease in the activity of hormones (irisin, resistin, glucagon, GLP-1, and GLP-2) in the presence of the lower metabolic activity of the microbiota, while the overweight and obese children showed a positive correlation with the main hormones and incretins. The reduced metabolic function of the microbiota, largely in synthesizing butyric acid, may be associated with a low indigestible fiber diet for obese and overweight children and also indirectly suggests that there may be a small number of butyrate-producing bacteria and/or their low activity. The mechanisms and direction of correlations between the functional activity of the gut microbiota, the gastrointestinal system, and some adipokines require further understanding and research.