Gut microbe–derived N -acyl serinol lipids shape host postprandial metabolic homeostasis
Open Access
- 19 March 2026
- journal article
- Published by National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 123 (12)
Abstract
Although strong evidence links the gut microbiome to metabolic disease, the mechanisms linking microbiota to hormonal and metabolic responses to food are not well understood. After a meal, gut bacteria produce a wide array of small molecule, protein, and lipid metabolites originating from bacterial sources. Attributing physiological function to select gut microbe–derived metabolites is critical to understanding diet–microbe–host interactions, and to developing microbiome-inspired therapies to improve human health. Here, we have investigated the role of a poorly annotated class of gut microbiome-derived lipids called N -acyl amides in postprandial metabolic physiology. Here, we show that both bacterial production and provision of exogenous N -acyl amides reorganize host hormone-driven metabolic transition after a meal. Moreover, N -acyl amides exert broad effects on the meal- and circadian-related reorganization of gene expression, metabolic hormones, and gut microbiome composition. Collectively, these results demonstrate that microbiota-derived N -acyl amides play a physiologic role in postprandial metabolic homeostasis in the host.Keywords
Funding Information
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (R01 DK130227)
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (P01 HL147823)
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (P50 AA024333)
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (RF1 NS133812)
- American Heart Association (24POST1178494)
- Cleveland Clinic (N/A)
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (S10 OD030398)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01 HL179780)
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