| Theme |
Impacts of intestinal microbiota |
| Title |
Gastrointestinal motility and gut microbiota |
| Author |
Kazuhiro Kamada |
Department of Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine |
| Author |
Yuji Naito |
Department of Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] |
Over the past few years, research in the field of gut microbiota has made remarkable progress due to the development of analytical methods. Intestinal bacteria coexist in our gastrointestinal tract. On the other hand, they exert various influences on their hosts. The digestive tract is the first contact site for intestinal bacterial flora. Various bidirectional signal transductions exist between intestinal epithelial cells and the flora. Short-chain fatty acids and secondary bile acids, which are metabolites of gut microbiota, bind to specific G-protein coupled receptors on the endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract. This leads to stimulion of secretion of gastrointestinal hormones such as peptide YY or a physiologically active substance typified by serotonin. Gut microbiota can modulate gastrointestinal motility via their metabolites. In addition, some intestinal bacteria can release physiologically active substances affecting gastrointestinal motility directly. Microbiota and gut motility are clearly associated, and there may exist many signal transduction factors. However, it is still unclear what plays the major role in those signals or which components play essential roles. Those must be subjects of future analysis. |