Cholecystectomy-related gut microbiota dysbiosis exacerbates colorectal tumorigenesis
Authors:
Open Access
- 16 August 2025
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature Communications
- Vol. 16 (1) , 7638
Abstract
Cholecystectomy represents the most prevalent biliary surgical procedure for gallbladder abnormalities. Growing evidence suggests that cholecystectomy is associated with an elevated risk of colorectal cancer. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we show that cholecystectomy exacerbates colorectal tumorigenesis in both AOM/DSS and APCmin/+ mice models. Metagenomic sequencing and targeted metabolomics show that cholecystectomy leads to a decrease of Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) and an increase of Ruminococcus gnavus (R. gnavus), along with increased levels of glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) in human and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) in mice. Fecal microbiota transplantation, single bacterial colonization and bile acid supplementation demonstrate that cholecystectomy-related gut microbiota perturbations promote the production of TUDCA and facilitate colorectal tumorigenesis. RNA-sequencing and co-immunoprecipitation reveal that the compromised bile acid metabolism inhibits farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signaling, disrupts the FXR/β-catenin interaction, and ultimately exacerbates colorectal tumorigenesis. Significantly, FXR agonist obeticholic acid (OCA) averts cholecystectomy-related colorectal tumorigenesis. The gut microbiota holds a crucial position in cholecystectomy-induced colorectal tumorigenesis, and modulation of the gut microbiota-bile acid-FXR axis represents a promising preventive strategy.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (82030020, 82172958)
This publication has 53 references indexed in Scilit:
- Intestinal Crosstalk between Bile Acids and Microbiota and Its Impact on Host MetabolismCell Metabolism, 2016
- Functions of the Gallbladder2016
- Gene expression profiling in human precision cut liver slices in response to the FXR agonist obeticholic acidJournal of Hepatology, 2016
- Metabolic Effects of Cholecystectomy: Gallbladder Ablation Increases Basal Metabolic Rate through G-Protein Coupled Bile Acid Receptor Gpbar1-Dependent Mechanisms in MicePLOS ONE, 2015
- Contribution of the 7β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from Ruminococcus gnavus N53 to ursodeoxycholic acid formation in the human colonJournal of Lipid Research, 2013
- Cholecystectomy and the risk for developing colorectal cancer and distal colorectal adenomasBritish Journal of Cancer, 2003
- Long-term effects of cholecystectomy on bile acid metabolismHepatology, 1995
- Effects of cholecystectomy on the kinetics of primary and secondary bile acids.Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1989
- Enterohepatic circulation of bile acids after cholecystectomy.Gut, 1978
- The effect of cholecystectomy on bile salt metabolismGut, 1973