Targeting microbiota-mitochondria inter-talk: Microbiota controls mitochondria metabolism stated by Marvin Edeas

Marvin Edeas from Cochin Institute-INSERM U1016, CNRS UMR8104, Department of Cancer, Development and Reproduction / Inflammation, Oxidative stress and Cellular Proliferation Team at University Paris Descartes published a recent paper titled "Microbiota-mitochondria inter-talk: consequence for microbiota-host interaction".

Marvin Edeas stated: This is the first time that we demonstrated the intriguing relationship between microbiota and mitochondria. We are at the beginning and in the next years, we will elucidate how they communicate together and how they control our metabolism in health and diseases.

New discoveries in metagenomics and clinical research have highlighted the importance of the gut microbiota for human health through the regulation of host immune response and energetic metabolism. Microbiota interact with host cells in particular by intermingling with the mitochondrial activities. This mitochondria – microbiota cross-talk is intriguing because mitochondria shares a lot of common structural and functional features with prokaryotic world. Several studies reported correlation between microbiota quality and diversity and mitochondrial function. The mitochondrial production of Reactive Oxygen Species plays an important role during the innate immune response and inflammation and is often target by pathogenic bacteria. Data suggest that excessive mitochondrial ROS production may affect ROS signaling induced by microbiota to regulate gut epithelial barrier. Finally, microbiota released metabolites that can directly interfere with mitochondrial respiratory chain and ATP production. Short Chain Fatty Acids have beneficial effects on mitochondrial activity. All these data suggest that microbiota target mitochondria to regulate its interaction with the host. Imbalance of this targeting may results in pathogenic state as observed in numerous studies. The challenge to find new treatment will be to find strategies to modulate the quality and diversity of microbiota rather than acting on microbiota metabolites and microbiota related factors.

References:

Saint-Georges-Chaumet, Y., Edeas, M. Microbiota-mitochondria inter-talk: consequence for microbiota-host interaction. Pathog Dis. 2016 Feb;74(1)
Peltier, E., Attaf, D., Saint-Georges-Chaumet, Y., Edeas, M. Cell. Mol. Biol. 2015; 61 (4): 121-124
Weissig, V. and Edeas, M., Mitochondrial medicine Vol. I & Vol II - Preface. Methods Mol Biol. 2015, 1264 - 1265