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  2. Microbiota, a diplomatic immunity?
  3. The impact of western diet on the mucus layer
Gastroenterology

The impact of western diet on the mucus layer

Diet

by Dr. Larissa Celiberto

Gastroenterology
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Sources

This article is based on scientific information

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About this article

Author

Dr Larissa Celiberto, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

She has an expertise in animal models of intestinal inflammation as well as the effects of intestinal mucus, dietary compounds and probiotic bacteria in the gut microbiome.

See the author
Created 22 November 2021
Updated 24 January 2022

Fiber ingestion helps ensure regular bowel movements. Moreover, since fiber is not digestible by human enzymes, it can also serve as a key nutrient for the gut microbiota as these microbes produce distinct enzymes that are able to ferment and degrade these fibers into important metabolites such as SCFAs.28

Microbial dysbiosis, mucus layer degradation and alteration of the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory T cells in the intestine are observed in individuals consuming Western-type diets, leading to intestinal and extra-intestinal inflammation.26

FIGURE 4: Impact of Western diet versus diets rich in fiber and vitamins on local and systemic homeostasis and immunity.

Adapted from Siracusa F et al, 2019.26
infographic

The intestinal mucus layer can also serve as an alternative energy source for certain gut microbes (80% of its mass being composed of sugars) when the diet is lacking in fiber.29 This increase in mucus foraging by gut bacteria can prove detrimental as animal studies have shown that mice fed a diet with no fiber are more susceptible to intestinal infections and inflammation. This susceptibility was due to the resident microbiota eroding the mucus layer, such that it could no longer protect the underlying epithelium from invading pathogens.29 Western diets shift the microbiota composition away from fiber degrading bacteria in favor of bacterial species that thrive on mucus (Fig 4).30 Thus, our Western diets may be leading to the loss of protective microbes and the expansion of microbes that weaken key defenses and barriers in the intestine, thereby helping trigger chronic intestinal inflammation.

What is western diet?

Western style diets largely consist of specific dietary fats, sugars and processed foods, environmental pesticides and are lacking in fiber. Consumption of the Western style diet has been linked to obesity as well as inflammatory and metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and IBD.26 Aside from low quality food with high calories, it is also largely devoid of fiber due its lack of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, which makes achieving the recommended daily fiber intake of 28–35g27 for adults extremely difficult.

Sources

26 Siracusa F, Schaltenberg N, Villablanca EJ, et al. Dietary Habits and Intestinal Immunity: From Food Intake to CD4+ T H Cells. Front Immunol. 2019 Jan 15;9:3177.

27 Jones JM. CODEX-aligned dietary fiber definitions help to bridge the 'fiber gap'. Nutr J. 2014 Apr 12;13:34.

28 Koh A, De Vadder F, Kovatcheva-Datchary P, et al. From Dietary Fiber to Host Physiology: Short-Chain Fatty Acids as Key Bacterial Metabolites. Cell. 2016 Jun 2;165(6):1332-1345. 

29 Desai MS, Seekatz AM, Koropatkin NM, et al. A Dietary Fiber-Deprived Gut Microbiota Degrades the Colonic Mucus Barrier and Enhances Pathogen Susceptibility. Cell. 2016 Nov 17;167(5):1339-1353.e21.

30 Sonnenburg ED, Sonnenburg JL. The ancestral and industrialized gut microbiota and implications for human health. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2019 Jun;17(6):383-390. 

Tags
Immunity Immune defenses Gut microbiota Diet Western diet Mucus Inflammation Short-chain fatty acid Dysbiosis Fiber

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    Focus
    Microbiota, a diplomatic immunity?
    • Introduction
      • Understanding the complex interplay between the microbiota and immunity is only just beginning
    • Intestinal Immunity
      • The infant's gut at the heart of immunity
      • Factors influencing microbiota development and maturation of the immune system early in life
      • The impact of western diet on the mucus layer
      • Dampening gastrointestinal inflammation through nutrition
    • Gut microbiota influences respiratory immunity
      • The gut microbiota is involved in the lung’s defense against viral respiratory infections
      • Gut-lung axis in viral respiratory infections
      • The hygiene hypothesis and the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Targeting the gut microbiota to optimize vaccine efficacy?
    • Role of the microbiota in skin immunity and atopic dermatitis
      • Expert interview: Pr. Brigitte Dréno
    • Conclusion
      • What to take away? Intestinal Immunity
      • What to take away? Respiratory immunity
      • What to take away? Skin immunity
    Created 22 November 2021
    Updated 24 January 2022

    About this article

    To know more about this topic.

    Main topic

    Diet

    Content type

    Dossier detail

    Author

    Dr Larissa Celiberto, PhD

    Postdoctoral Researcher

    Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

    She has an expertise in animal models of intestinal inflammation as well as the effects of intestinal mucus, dietary compounds and probiotic bacteria in the gut microbiome.

    See the author
    Factors influencing microbiota development and maturation of the immune system early in life
    Dampening gastrointestinal inflammation through nutrition
    Focus

    Microbiota, a diplomatic immunity?

    Introduction

    Understanding the complex interplay between the microbiota and immunity is only just beginning

    Intestinal Immunity

    The infant's gut at the heart of immunity Factors influencing microbiota development and maturation of the immune system early in life The impact of western diet on the mucus layer Dampening gastrointestinal inflammation through nutrition

    Gut microbiota influences respiratory immunity

    The gut microbiota is involved in the lung’s defense against viral respiratory infections Gut-lung axis in viral respiratory infections The hygiene hypothesis and the COVID-19 pandemic Targeting the gut microbiota to optimize vaccine efficacy?

    Role of the microbiota in skin immunity and atopic dermatitis

    Expert interview: Pr. Brigitte Dréno

    Conclusion

    What to take away? Intestinal Immunity What to take away? Respiratory immunity What to take away? Skin immunity

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