Professor Pan Deng's group publishes study on polysaccharide metabolism using stable isotope tracing in Microbiome

The gut microbiome is intricately connected to various host organs, with microbial metabolites playing a crucial role in regulating host metabolic homeostasis and influencing the progression of diseases. Polysaccharides, as high-molecular-weight carbohydrates, are known to improve gut microbial ecology and modulate host metabolism, with their metabolites regarded as the active agents responsible for these effects. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic interactions between the gut microbiome and host organs is essential for understanding the close relationship between the gut microbiome and the host, as well as for identifying the active substances in polysaccharides.

In a collaborative effort between Professor Pan Deng of the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, and Professor Bernhard Hennig of the University of Kentucky, a stable isotope tracing method was developed to study the dynamic changes of metabolites within complex metabolic networks. This study unveiled the dynamic transport patterns of polysaccharide-derived metabolites from the gut microbiome across various host organs. The findings were published in the journalMicrobiomeunder the title "13C-Stable Isotope Resolved Metabolomics Uncovers Dynamic Biochemical Landscape of Gut Microbiome-Host Organ Communications in Mice" (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01808-x).

Doctoral student Xia Xiao from the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Soochow University is the first author of this study, with Professor Pan Deng serving as the corresponding author. The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

Reference:

Xiao X, Zhou Y, Li X, Jin J, Durham J, Ye Z, Wang Y, Hennig B*, Deng P*.¹³C-Stable isotope resolved metabolomics uncovers dynamic biochemical landscape of gut microbiome-host organ communications in mice,Microbiome, 2024, 12: 90.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01808-x

Corresponding author

Prof. Pan Deng’s lab focuses on metabolism research, including drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, microbiome metabolism and function, and environmental pollutant and human metabolism interactions. She has published more than 50 articles, including the first/corresponding authored paper on Environ. Health Perspect., Anal. Chim. Acta, J. Med. Chem, and J. Lipid Res.