R01DK126721

The Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Surgery: A Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Omic, Longitudinal Study - Project Summary

Metabolic and bariatric surgery is an emerging option to treat obesity-related metabolic diseases, e.g., type 2 diabetes, and prevent atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Metabolic surgery can profoundly alter the gut microbiota; meanwhile, gut microbiota and their metabolites may affect cardiometabolic outcomes after the surgery. Investigation of these "host-microbiota interactions" will offer novel mechanistic understanding of metabolic surgery and evidence for developing potential microbiota-based models/therapies to achieve better cardiometabolic health.

Yet, longitudinal patient studies that examined pre- to post-surgery gut microbiota and their metabolites in relation to cardiometabolic outcomes are scarce. Existing studies are limited by small sample sizes, non-prospective design, no evaluation of microbial functionality nor activity (e.g., via multi-omics), and little consideration of diet or medication use. Of note, no studies have evaluated gut microbiota in relation to estimated 10-year ASCVD risk, which reflects the overall cardiometabolic benefit of metabolic surgery and is widely used in clinical practice per ACC/AHA guideline. Furthermore, no studies have included African Americans (AAs), a population with high rates of cardiometabolic diseases.

We aim to fill these research gaps by establishing a longitudinal, multi-ethnic cohort of metabolic surgery patients and applying multi-omics to identify microbial features (e.g., species, pathways, and metabolites) associated with estimated 10-year ASCVD risk and/or improvements in A1C, blood pressure, and blood lipids. In a pilot study, we enrolled 20 patients (including AAs), collected longitudinal stool/blood samples, conducted surveys, and found significant changes in the microbiome and microbial metabolites after surgery, demonstrating the feasibility and our ability to carry out the proposed full-scale study.

Specifically, we will enroll and follow 200 patients to collect biospecimen and conduct surveys at pre-surgery and 3-month and 1-year post-surgery visits. We will evaluate pre- to post-surgery changes in gut microbiome and fecal and circulating levels of metabolites, especially microbiota-derived metabolites, and the prospective associations of pre-surgery and 3-month microbiome and metabolites with ASCVD risk and metabolic outcomes at 1-year post-surgery. We will also explore potential effect modifications by diet and medication, focusing on fiber intake and metformin use.

Our proposed research will provide substantial novel data to advance our understanding of the role of gut microbiota in cardiometabolic improvements after metabolic surgery, which may translate into novel microbial approaches to identify and treat patients for better cardiometabolic health. Our team has extensive expertise in cardiometabolic diseases, diet-microbiota-host interactions, metagenomics and metabolomics in longitudinal cohorts, as well as in metabolic surgery with experiences as patients, care providers, and/or researchers, and thus, is uniquely positioned to accomplish the proposed research.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

(1) TO PROMOTE EXTRAMURAL BASIC AND CLINICAL BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH THAT IMPROVES THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING DISEASE AND LEADS TO IMPROVED PREVENTIONS, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF DIABETES, DIGESTIVE, AND KIDNEY DISEASES. PROGRAMMATIC AREAS WITHIN THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES INCLUDE DIABETES, DIGESTIVE, ENDOCRINE, HEMATOLOGIC, LIVER, METABOLIC, NEPHROLOGIC, NUTRITION, OBESITY, AND UROLOGIC DISEASES. SPECIFIC PROGRAMS AREAS OF INTEREST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: (A) FOR DIABETES, ENDOCRINE, AND METABOLIC DISEASES AREAS: FUNDAMENTAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES INCLUDING THE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS, PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND CURE OF DIABETES MELLITUS AND ITS COMPLICATIONS, NORMAL AND ABNORMAL FUNCTION OF THE PITUITARY, THYROID, PARATHYROID, ADRENAL, AND OTHER HORMONE SECRETING GLANDS, HORMONAL REGULATION OF BONE, ADIPOSE TISSUE, AND LIVER, ON FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION, INCLUDING THE ACTION OF HORMONES, COREGULATORS, AND CHROMATIN REMODELING PROTEINS, HORMONE BIOSYNTHESIS, SECRETION, METABOLISM, AND BINDING, AND ON HORMONAL REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION AND THE ROLE(S) OF SELECTIVE RECEPTOR MODULATORS AS PARTIAL AGONISTS OR ANTAGONISTS OF HORMONE ACTION, AND FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES RELEVANT TO METABOLIC DISORDERS INCLUDING MEMBRANE STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA AND ENZYME BIOSYNTHESIS, AND BASIC AND CLINICAL STUDIES ON THE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS, PREVENTION, AND TREATMENT OF INHERITED METABOLIC DISORDERS (SUCH AS CYSTIC FIBROSIS). (B) FOR DIGESTIVE DISEASE AND NUTRITION AREAS: GENETICS AND GENOMICS OF THE GI TRACT AND ITS DISEASES, GENETICS AND GENOMICS OF LIVER/PANCREAS AND DISEASES, GENETICS AND GENOMICS OF NUTRITION, GENETICS AND GENOMICS OF OBESITY, BARIATRIC SURGERY, CLINICAL NUTRITION RESEARCH, CLINICAL OBESITY RESEARCH, COMPLICATIONS OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE, FATTY LIVER DISEASE, GENETIC LIVER DISEASE, HIV AND LIVER, CELL INJURY, REPAIR, FIBROSIS AND INFLAMMATION IN THE LIVER, LIVER CANCER, LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, PEDIATRIC LIVER DISEASE, VIRAL HEPATITIS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, GASTROINTESTINAL AND NUTRITION EFFECTS OF AIDS, GASTROINTESTINAL MUCOSAL AND IMMUNOLOGY, GASTROINTESTINAL MOTILITY, BASIC NEUROGASTROENTEROLOGY, GASTROINTESTINAL DEVELOPMENT, GASTROINTESTINAL EPITHELIAL BIOLOGY, GASTROINTESTINAL INFLAMMATION, DIGESTIVE DISEASES EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DATA SYSTEMS, NUTRITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND DATA SYSTEMS, AUTOIMMUNE LIVER DISEASE, BILE, BILIRUBIN AND CHOLESTASIS, BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY RELATED TO DIGESTIVE DISEASES, LIVER, NUTRITION AND OBESITY, CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE LIVER, DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY AND REGENERATION, DRUG-INDUCED LIVER DISEASE, GALLBLADDER DISEASE AND BILIARY DISEASES, EXOCRINE PANCREAS BIOLOGY AND DISEASES, GASTROINTESTINAL NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY, GASTROINTESTINAL TRANSPORT AND ABSORPTION, NUTRIENT METABOLISM, PEDIATRIC CLINICAL OBESITY, CLINICAL TRIALS IN DIGESTIVE DISEASES, LIVER CLINICAL TRIALS, OBESITY PREVENTION AND TREATMENT, AND OBESITY AND EATING DISORDERS. (C) FOR KIDNEY, UROLOGIC AND HEMATOLOGIC DISEASES AREAS: STUDIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT, PHYSIOLOGY, AND CELL BIOLOGY OF THE KIDNEY, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE KIDNEY, GENETICS OF KIDNEY DISORDERS, IMMUNE MECHANISMS OF KIDNEY DISEASE, KIDNEY DISEASE AS A COMPLICATION OF DIABETES, EFFECTS OF DRUGS, NEPHROTOXINS AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS ON THE KIDNEY, MECHANISMS OF KIDNEY INJURY REPAIR, IMPROVED DIAGNOSIS, PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE AND END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE, IMPROVED APPROACHES TO MAINTENANCE DIALYSIS THERAPIES, BASIC STUDIES OF LOWER URINARY TRACT CELL BIOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, PHYSIOLOGY, AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, CLINICAL STUDIES OF BLADDER DYSFUNCTION, INCONTINENCE, PYELONEPHRITIS, INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS, BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA, UROLITHIASIS, AND VESICOURETERAL REFLUX, DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS AND IMPROVED THERAPIES, INCLUDING TISSUE ENGINEERING STRATEGIES, FOR UROLOGIC DISORDERS,RESEARCH ON HEMATOPOIETIC CELL DIFFERENTIATION, METABOLISM OF IRON OVERLOAD AND DEFICIENCY, STRUCTURE, BIOSYNTHESIS AND GENETIC REGULATION OF HEMOGLOBIN, AS WELL AS RESEARCH ON THE ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS, AND THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES FOR THE ANEMIA OF INFLAMMATION AND CHRONIC DISEASES. (2) TO ENCOURAGE BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH TRAINING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. THE RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD (NRSA) FUNDS BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH TRAINING, SUPPORT FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT, AND THE TRANSITION FROM POSTDOCTORAL BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH TRAINING TO INDEPENDENT RESEARCH RELATED TO DIABETES, DIGESTIVE, ENDOCRINE, HEMATOLOGIC, LIVER, METABOLIC, NEPHROLOGIC, NUTRITION, OBESITY, AND UROLOGIC DISEASES. (3) TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM. THE SBIR PROGRAM AIMS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO ENHANCE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. (4) TO UTILIZE THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM. THE STTR PROGRAM INTENDS TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.847 - Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) [HHS - NIH]

Nashville, Tennessee 37203 United States

Single Zip Code

Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-19-056)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 484% from $524,197 to $3,059,645.